Mike Trout - is this the beginning to the end?

Maybe it was Albert Pujols 15-20 years ago where you had this big leaguer who stood above the rest and applauded for his metronomic excellence - Mike Trout has been that guy for the past 10-11 years where in my life, I wish I had just a bit of the confidence and type of energy he brings to a game.

But apparently diagnosed with a rare back condition, things are a bit uncertain at the moment - there maybe just cause to worry about his durability game by game, through a course of a 162 game season and longevity as far as considering how much longer can he be able to play.

Before he got hurt, there were batting slumps in the 2022 season where I wondered whether Trout could either see the ball or where his bat speed slowed considerably - when he was 'right,' I thought Trout had the perfect batting approach where you don’t really see him selling out at the plate.

Maybe he was as dynamic of a player, where he was basically a slugger, but also maintained the ability to hit line drives - it was a thing of beauty, where he seemed like you couldn’t effectively pitch to him to get him out. 

Now that idea is basically out the window, where Trout's plate discipline has deteriorated and he’s become an all-or-nothing hitter - despite having very good numbers if he was any other big league player, maybe he is finally turning mortal as a ballplayer.

Maybe for such a great player, that aw shucks stuff has worn thin - a bad stretch or a bad rest of the season doesn’t diminish his stature, but when push comes to shove, has he ever gotten demonstratively mad or simply voiced his displeasure to change things up for the better?

He is always going to be a GOAT for my team, even if that tenure has been made to feel dubious and suspect at times because the Angels haven't been good - I do wonder if the random cards I do have won’t be those solid gold, collection foundations anymore.

Through Trout’s prime years, I think I’ve been priced out of his better cards where I said I was content to keep what I had [2011 Topps Update rookie, a quartet of 2011 Topps Finest rookies I might have picked up for $0.50 each] or the more common inserts I may run into since he has been the prominent guy - maybe I was waiting or hoping something might trigger a ‘come down,’ despite knowing Trout has always been a rock solid player and there is no sentiment, where I was really wishing no one would care about him or particularly his cards ‘no more.