Mike Trout

Few things excite Mike Trout like the weather. Give him a good storm, and you can see lightning bolts in his eyes.

During a blizzard last winter, he phoned in a report to the Weather Channel. In appreciation—or, perhaps, out of sheer amusement—the network promised to send him a weather balloon.

Los Angeles Angels superstar Mike Trout stated Wednesday he's not interested in showing up an opposing pitcher despite comments from fellow sensation Bryce Harper of the Washington Nationals about baseball being a "tired" game.  

The Los Angeles Angels probably don't need to be told this, but they should feel blessed to have Mike Trout. He's been a regular since 2012—a historically awesome regular since 2012.

But now for something that maybe the Angels do need to be told: They should be mindful of Trout's historical awesomeness possibly going to waste.

The MLB MVP races don’t have the luster of recent memory, given only a handful of candidates were a part of a pennant race despite their teams being rich with high expectations fueled by remarkable talent.

Praise the second wild-card berth.

Without it, this final weekend in Major League Baseball might be the kind that forces even the steadfast fan to shift his or her attention to the gridiron. But because we are in the era of two wild-card teams in each league, there is no need for attention to be taken off the diamond over the next two days. 

The reappearing act is an underrated one.

That is mostly because it is shrouded in disappointment, which is a necessary prerequisite. Without a massive letdown, there is no unexpected burst back onto the scene to stun the masses.

The Los Angeles Angels have both ends covered now.

If you load the bases for Mike Trout, good things are going to happen.

In the second inning against the Minnesota Twins on Thursday night, the Los Angeles Angels did just that—and the reigning American League MVP delivered.

Trout took A.J. Achter's pitch deep to right-center field and gave his Angels a 6-5 lead. It was his 37th long ball of the season.

On Friday, Nike unveiled Mike Trout's second signature cleat, the Nike Lunar Trout 2, which will also be available as a turf shoe—a first for the Los Angeles Angels center fielder.

The finish line is in sight for this Major League Baseball season. 

With less than six weeks to play in the regular season, very little is decided when it comes to the playoff races, sans the Kansas City Royals and St. Louis Cardinals being locks to win their respective Central divisions. Everything else is still up for grabs. 

The main plot of the three-game series between the Toronto Blue Jays and Los Angeles Angels that concluded Sunday was the playoff chase.

The Halos are in the thick of the wild-card hunt, and the Jays hold a narrow half-game edge over the New York Yankees in the American League East.

But there was a solid subplot to this weekend's action: the burgeoning AL Most Valuable Player race between Josh Donaldson and Mike Trout.