A few weeks before Mike Trout knew he was coming down to Salt Lake City for a rehab assignment, he reached out to the team for food recommendations.
It’s tradition whenever an All-Star makes a pit stop in the minors to provide some sort of spread for the team. It’s typically the sort of meal that only a major league salary can afford. Trout wanted to know which local spots he should hit up.
But when it came time to buy his first group meal on Tuesday, he went with something a little more mundane: Chick-fil-A.
“I reached out a few weeks ago to get some spots lined up. Always take care of your people. The big one today for lunch was Chick-fil-A,” he said. “And then steaks and stuff for after the game.”
Maybe you can chalk up Trout’s first foray into catering as being new to the scene. He hasn’t played a minor league game since 2017. He hasn’t been in Triple-A in Salt Lake since 2012. That was before the three MVPs and his becoming one of baseball’s generational players.
It makes his return to the state more novel. And now he is reflective on his thoughts on what Salt Lake was like for him, and what the city’s baseball future should be.
“Brings back a lot of good memories,” he said. “I just like hitting here. The fans are great. It’s a beautiful ballpark. The field looks in great shape”
He believes that Utah can host a major league team eventually. Leaders in Salt Lake City have been pushing for an expansion team. It is far from a lock to happen — but Trout is on board.
“Salt Lake, oh yeah,” he said when asked if Utah can support a team. “It doesn’t get much nicer than this. You’ve got the mountains in the background. You know I’m a big snow guy. Right now it’s pretty hot out here. But yeah.”
(Chris Samuels | The Salt Lake Tribune) Los Angeles Angels outfielder Mike Trout speaks to reporters at Smith’s Ballpark in Salt Lake City before beginning a rehab stint with the Salt Lake Bees, Tuesday, July 23, 2024.
Trout thought back to his 20 games with the Salt Lake Bees in 2012. The Angels wanted to see him in Triple-A for a month after spring training. He hit .402, with 13 RBIs and one home run. He was called up by the end of April and never came back down.
“Coming back, this isn’t where I wanted to be [back then], but ... [the last 12 years have been] like a blink of an eye, man,” he said. “I tell a lot of people this. You are very fortunate to play this long. It just goes by so fast. Felt like a blink of an eye.”
The last pitcher Trout faced in Salt Lake back then was a pitcher named Barry Enright. Enright is now the Angels pitching coach.
“It goes by so fast. You meet a lot of great people. Barry is one of them,” Trout said.
Trout has made it a point to return to Utah during his stellar career outside of his minor league stint. He wanted to get away, see the snow, so he vacationed in a house in the mountains.
“One morning we had 7 or 8Iinches of snow. We came down here [to the valley] and there was nothing,” Trout said. “It was pretty wild.”
(Chris Samuels | The Salt Lake Tribune) Los Angeles Angels outfielder Mike Trout wears a Bees cap as he speaks to reporters at Smith’s Ballpark in Salt Lake City before beginning a rehab stint with the Salt Lake Bees, Tuesday, July 23, 2024.
Trout isn’t sure how long this return to Salt Lake will be this time. It could be days.
It certainly won’t be 20 games.
As long as it it takes to get back to the big leagues, he said he’ll spend his days signing jerseys for fans. Many of them are still wearing Trout’s original Salt Lake Bees uniform with the No. 23 instead of 27.
“It makes you feel good,” he said of seeing the retro Trout jerseys. “... Lots of people wearing my jerseys and looking up to me. I want to go out there and play hard.”
And for as long as he is here, he will keep trying to get the pre-game meal right.
Eventually, he’ll upgrade from Chick-fil-A.
(Chris Samuels | The Salt Lake Tribune) Los Angeles Angels outfielder Mike Trout speaks to reporters at Smith’s Ballpark in Salt Lake City before beginning a rehab stint with the Salt Lake Bees, Tuesday, July 23, 2024.