Alex Rodriguez casually destroys Angels ahead of WBC final

Minutes before Mike Trout and Shohei Ohtani took the field in the World Baseball Classic final for the United States and Japan, respectively, the Major League Baseball team that employs both stars caught a serious stray.

As good as Trout and Ohtani both are, the Los Angeles Angels haven’t enjoyed a lot of success with them. The Angels have only reached the postseason once in Trout’s career and never in Ohtani’s. In fact, Los Angeles hasn’t even enjoyed a winning season with both Trout and Ohtani on the roster.

And prior to Tuesday’s final, Fox’s Alex Rodriguez couldn’t help but note the team’s lack of success with the two transcendent players.

As the two teams walked onto the field, with Trout and Ohtani bearing the flags of their respective nations, Rodriguez said, “Finally, an Angel will be a world champion tonight, one way or another.”

This drew varied responses.

Some people, of course, were quick to jump to the defense of the Angels, noting their 2002 championship.

Well, there was 2002 …

— Jim_Alexander (@Jim_Alexander) March 21, 2023

Yet when the Angels won that championship, Trout was 11 and Ohtani was 8.

Knowing how long it’s been since the Halos reigned atop the MLB world, several other people found the truth in A-Rod’s commentary.

I haven’t seen ARod wreck the Angels this badly since 2009. https://t.co/2UCQXeQz8R

— Ben K. (@bkabak) March 21, 2023

The World Baseball Classic has come under fire in 2023, due largely to the injuries to star players. Yet, the crowds tell us that people do care about these games. For fans of baseball, it has been great to see Trout and Ohtani playing in such an environment.