Skip to content

Trout honors Griffey's HOF induction with special cleats

Alden Gonzalez / Twitter

Like just about every other young ballplayer in the 1990s, Mike Trout wanted to be Ken Griffey Jr. when he grew up.

The Los Angeles Angels superstar still admires Griffey, and he'll show it on the field Sunday by wearing a special Nike cleat to honor the newest Hall of Famer on the day he's inducted into Cooperstown.

Trout mans center field on the West Coast just like his idol, and believes Griffey remains someone today's players should look up to.

"Every lefty should swing like him," said Trout, a right-handed hitter.

Trout may have already bested his idol during his young career. In his first six full seasons Griffey accumulated 34.1 WAR, per Fangraphs; entering Sunday's play, the 24-year-old Trout has put up 44.3 WAR over his five-plus year career.

Daily Newsletter

Get the latest trending sports news daily in your inbox