#CardCorner: 2015 Topps Mike Trout

The image was captured on July 4, 2014, when a capacity, holiday crowd of 43,557 fans gathered at Angel Stadium for some baseball and fireworks. Little did they know that the biggest fireworks would be provided by Trout himself.

The Angels had fallen behind the Houston Astros 6-3 early, but the Angels chipped away with two in the bottom of the fourth and one more in the 7th to tie the game at 6. That score held into the bottom of the ninth inning, when Mike Trout stepped to the plate. He faced Houston pitcher Tony Sipp, who came into the game with a 1.54 ERA. Trout quickly fell behind 0-2 on two called strikes.

Trout, just 22 years old, stepped out of the box, adjusted his gloves, then stepped back in. Sipp stared in, and Trout called time out, then stepped out again. He took a smooth practice swing, tugged at his belt, walked toward the box, adjusted his helmet, then stepped to the plate. He took two slow swings and waited. Sipp threw an 84 mile per hour slider, low and inside, probably a ball. But Trout swung.

He threw a fist into the sky and shouted and flew the rest of the way around the bases, whooping and jumping and watching his teammates spill over the dugout rail and onto the field. After he gave a full-force, waist-high hand slap to the third base coach, he flung his helmet into the air and started bounding on his tip-toes, “creeping toward the plate,” Angels radio announcer Terry Smith described it. He slowed down, hollering with his teammates who had gathered around the plate.

That is the precise moment captured on the card: Trout with all his joy and enthusiasm on full display.

“The adrenaline rush you get when it goes out,” Trout later said, “it’s something special.”

It was his 20th home run. The Angels were on their way to a Major League leading 98 regular season wins, and Mike Trout was on his way to his first MVP award.

After he shuffle-stepped onto home plate and his teammates mobbed him and slapped him on the back and ripped at his jersey, after he stood and looked up to the sky and shouted for joy, as the fireworks started shooting over overhead, Angels television announcer Mark Gubicza said, "Is there anything that youngster can't do in this game of baseball?"

Two years later, and we are still asking that same question.