ANAHEIM — You couldn’t have asked for a more perfect day in Southern California for the biggest press conference in the history of the Angels. Thousands upon thousands of Angels fans lined up in between the two big hats just to get a glimpse of the new $400 million dollar man. Every one of Mike’s teammates, coaches, and clubhouse staff also attended the press conference. If that doesn’t show you the amount of respect Trout has earned from his teammates and coaching staff, I don’t know what does.
Angels broadcaster Victor Rojas, started the press conference off by saying “This unprecedented contract is a statement of commitment. A commitment to the organization, and a commitment to winning. This is the story of loyalty by a player to wear one or uniform his whole career, and loyalty of ownership to a fanbase.” The crowd of course had to erupt, and an “M-V-P” chant soon followed.
Angels owner, and man responsible for keeping Mike Trout an Angel for life, Arte Moreno took the mic next. As he walked to the stage with the biggest grin on his face the crowd of nearly 5,000 began to chant “ARTE, ARTE, ARTE.” Arte preached about how GM Billy Eppler and Team President John Carpino worked 24/7 for a few months to get this deal done. Moreno also stated after the press conference that he met with Mike Trout behind closed doors to discuss “his future, how he felt, and staying an Angel.” Arte went onto say that he “didn’t want to discuss this with the press so that Mike could have his privacy.”
Next to take the stage for the historic press conference was Angels general manager Billy Eppler. As he took to the stage a fan standing off to the right yelled “GO GET KEUCHEL!” Of course Eppler couldn’t do anything else but laugh it off and say, “That was great.” Eppler proceeded to say “This is a special day in Angels history. We are proud to say that we are keeping Mike Trout in an Angels uniform for the next 12 years.” Post press conference Eppler talked to the media. He stated that “talks became active in late February, but have been on my mind since I got the job.” Eppler also stated that “the one-on-one with Arte was big, and a few days after that Mike sent me a text in the morning and asked if we could get together.” And the rest is history.
Finally, the man of the hour, Mike Trout took the stage. As Victor Rojas announced his name the crowd went nuts, and “M-V-P” chants filled the air once again. A teary eyed Trout started off by saying how Kole Calhoun “got him all worked up for this.” He went on to thank everyone that was involved; from his teammates, to his wife Jessica, to the fans. Trout finished up his speech by saying “I wanna bring a championship back to Anaheim, Let’s go!”
