Mike Trout and Jacoby Ellsbury are both probably the best defensive center fielders in the game.  They both own a gold glove.  Now let’s look at their ups and downs.

            Mike Trout

Mike Trout is the younger one and maybe the better one.  He won the rookie of the year award.  He really isn’t the fastest, but gets sudden speed surges that can help him steal bases and make impossible catches. He is also the best in the game in robbing hits, especially home runs. But what’s more impressive than Mike Trout’s glove?  His bat. Mike Trout has plenty of power.  That means he hits a lot of home runs.  But one thing is he strikes out a lot.  The speed that he has will probably never lead the league in steals like Jacoby Ellsbury.  Mike Trout is still more likely to make more all star appearances than Jacoby Ellsbury.  Also, Mike Trout has more home runs and definitely at good times.  He has a lot of walk-off hits.  A lot of them are home runs! Trout is also known for his great plays and home runs.  But what about the bad things?  What about his strikeouts?  He always strikes out.  Just like Mickey Mantle, he has an all or nothing swing.   Even his dad admitted that he strikes out way too much and has to work on his swing.  You can’t be a contact hitter if you’re always down on strikes.  The only thing stopping this headliner guy from making the Hall of Fame is his strikeout ratio.  Do you see Jacoby Ellsbury striking out all the time?  He only gets the occasional strikeout.   If I had one thing to change about Mike Trout, it would be his strikeouts. Besides his strikeouts, he is a perfect combination of speed, power, contact, glove, and can steal.  So, he is a five tool player and at a very young age.

  Jacoby Ellsbury

Jacoby Ellsbury is one of the best defensive center fielders in the game.  He uses his speed to his own advantage.  Besides stealing all those bases, he also uses his speed to make impossible catches that match Mike Trout’s.  But one thing holds Jacoby Ellsbury back, injuries.  They basically come every season to him from making diving catches or from stealing bases.  He also isn’t the youngest.  He was amazing with the Red Sox and now he is the star center fielder for the Yankees.

Jacoby definitely has more speed than Mike Trout.  He has led the league in stolen bases three times with the Red Sox. Jacoby has 241 stolen bases with Boston.  He also knows the Green Monster center field territory better than anybody else in baseball.  That can be explained by his seven years as a Boston center fielder.

He also owns a gold glove from Boston.  Jacoby Ellsbury is already used to the Yankee Stadium features of the field.  He continues to use his magic glove.  But Jacoby is a different story when you talk about his bat.  Jacoby Ellsbury has had recent power surges in hitting home runs.  In 2011, Jacoby got a career high 32 home runs.  But then again,  in 2013, playing 134 games, only got nine homers. Maybe it’s because of the Little Monster in right field. But Jacoby Ellsbury does make good contact with the ball.  He has 885 hits in his career with Boston.  So pretty much, Jacoby Ellsbury has a good bat and even better speed.  He is probably the best speedster and base thief in baseball right now.  But Jacoby Ellsbury doesn’t strike out that much.  He only gets an occasional strikeout.  Also, Jacoby has a lot of pressure on him in the Red Sox/Yankee rivalry.   It is hard for Ellsbury going up against his former team.  But all in all, he is a good player.

Who’s better?

It all comes down to this.  Who is the best center fielder in the game today?  Is it Ellsbury with his super human speed and his unbelievable glove?  Or is it Trout with his slugger bat and his nearly impossible putouts?  Is it Mike Trout who strikes out a lot, or the speedster Jacoby Ellsbury?  Or is it Jacoby Ellsbury with his over powering speed which Trout lacks?  The answer is Mike Trout.

                  Celebrate!

Why?  He is a five tool, gold glove slugging center fielder.  Making impossible catches every day, he is obviously the best in baseball.  He is still very young, and has a bright future ahead of him, like making a stop and staying at Cooperstown.  Mike Trout is just the best in baseball right now.  Even though he strikes out a lot, he doesn’t have to  worry about joining Mickey Mantle and Reggie Jackson on the all time strikeout list.  But, he might join them on the Hall of Fame list.