Mike Trout's steep decline isn't keeping him from frustrating Mariners fans

There are certain baseball truths fans of the Seattle Mariners have come to accept: rain delays only happen if the roof malfunctions, Félix Hernández deserved better, and Mike Trout will always find a way to ruin your night.

The 34-year-old outfielder isn’t the unstoppable force he once was. The injuries have piled up, his bat has slowed at times, and he entered September stuck in the longest home run drought of his career — a staggering 123 plate appearances without a long ball. And yet, even during a season that looks more mortal than ever before, Trout still found a way to remind Mariners fans why he remains public enemy No. 1 at T-Mobile Park.

Why Mike Trout will always be the Mariners’ ultimate villain

After striking out in his first two at-bats in Thursday’s series opener, Trout reset the script the way he’s been doing to Seattle for more than a decade. On a pitch that caught just a little too much of the plate, he crushed his 399th career home run into left-center — his 34th at T-Mobile Park alone.

Seattle still walked it off in the 12th inning with a 7-6 win. Still, that homer puts Trout 15th all-time in home runs at the ballpark, and here’s the kicker: he’s the only player in the top 30 who’s never actually worn a Mariners uniform.

Ryan Divish of the Seattle Times recently put Mariners fans through some mild torture by highlighting Trout’s full career line against Seattle. Spoiler: it’s absurd. Across 193 career games against the Mariners, Trout has slashed .315/.425/.642 with 55 home runs and 137 RBIs.

What makes Trout such a fascinating villain is that he’s almost impossible to hate. Sure, his name alone can deflate the crowd in SoDo, but even the most bitter Mariners fan has to admit there’s something special about watching him. He plays the game clean, humble, and relentless. During Seattle’s leanest years, plenty of fans half-joked that the front office should just trade the farm to bring Trout north. After all, the numbers at T-Mobile look like the résumé of someone who could have a statue outside the stadium.

For context, Trout’s 34 homers in Seattle trail only Mitch Haniger (60, not officially retired), Cal Raleigh (59), and Julio Rodríguez (45) among active players. The difference? Those three have called Seattle home. Trout visits just a few times a year and still manages to carve his name into the franchise’s record books.

In a way, Trout has become to the Mariners what Chipper Jones once was to Mets fans: a career-long nemesis who inspired as much respect as resentment. And while his prime years may be fading, moments like Thursday night prove he’s not done tormenting M’s fans just yet. 

The silver lining is that Trout is no longer the automatic nightmare he once was. But make no mistake: when he steps into the box at T-Mobile Park, history suggests you’d better not get too comfortable.