Los Angeles Times - 02.08.2019

SPORTS

D F RIDAY, AUGUST 2, 2019::L ATIMES.COM/SPORTS

D

Mike Trout hits for aver-
age, for power and in the
clutch. His discerning eye
has him leading baseball in
walks and on-base percent-
age. He is one of the game’s
fastest baserunners and has
evolved into an elite defend-
er. Yet nine years into his ca-
reer, there is still one thing
the Angels center fielder is
extremely reluctant to do:
swing at a 3-and-0 pitch.
According to the website
Baseball Savant, Trout has
swung at 3-0 pitches only 15
times in 374 career plate ap-
pearances, producing one
single — off Seattle’s Hisashi
Iwakuma on April 8, 2015 —
in five official at-bats.
Ninety-two of those 3-0
counts started intentional
walks. The other 14 swings in
the 282 nonintentional-walk
plate appearances resulted
in two fly-ball outs, two
ground-ball outs, seven foul
balls, one sacrifice fly and
two swinging strikes.
Trout has not swung at a
3-0 pitch since Sept. 26, 2016,
a foul ball against Oakland’s
Sean Manaea, giving him an
active streak of 134 straight
3-0 pitches he has taken.
“So the goal for opposing
pitchers is to get to 3-0 to
Mike Trout,” joked Tim
Salmon, the former Angels
right fielder and current Fox
Sports West commentator.
“You’ve got him right where
you want him.”

Trout

rarely

takes

3-0 bait

Angels star has swung

only 15 times with

three-ball count in 374

career plate appearances.

By Mike DiGiovanna

[SeeTrout,D4] Clayton Kershaw, flashing an ear-to-ear

smile, his hair drenched from the sweat from his

six innings and another milestone, joined his

teammates prodding the rookie to absorb the

love. And so Will Smith, fresh off his latest game-

changing blast, reluctantly scooted up the dug-

out steps at Dodger Stadium. He tipped his bat-

ting helmet and took it in. The Dodgers were

winning again because he did it again.

The latest installment in the catcher’s ex-

panding catalog of dramatic home runs came in

the sixth inning of the Dodgers’ 8-2 win over the

San Diego Padres on Thursday. The bases were

loaded with two outs. The Dodgers had finally

chased left-hander Joey Lucchesi. The Padres

summoned Trey Wingenter, a right-hander, to

face Smith.

The fourth pitch of the encounter was a fast-

ball up over the outer half of the plate. Smith ap-

plied a powerful, compact swing. It looked like it

could have been a long out. Wingenter thought

so, and pointed up to it. But the ball kept carry-

ing and landed over the

IT’S ANOTHER BIGhome run trot for Will Smith, after the rookie’s grand slam in the sixth inning gave the Dodgers a 5-2 lead.

Luis SincoLos Angeles Times

Will finds way again

DODGERS 8, SAN DIEGO 2

By Jorge Castillo

[SeeDodgers, D5]

Rookie catcher Smith

continues his hot start with

slam against the Padres

SEASON OPENER ::USC VS. FRESNO STATE

AT THE COLISEUM, AUG. 31, 7:30 P.M. | TV: ESPN

My name is LZ
Granderson
and I smoke
pot. Not in a
wishy-washy/
Clintonesque
“I didn’t in-
hale” sort of
way, but rather in a depend-
ing-on-what-time-you-are-
reading-this-I-could-be-
high-right-now sort of way.
Because I’m a black man
of a certain age with a head
full of locs, this proclama-
tion could easily be met with
a cynical shoulder shrug
followed by “of course you
smoke pot, look at you.”
And although I treat
cannabis with the same

respect and caution as I do

alcohol, I’m sure there are

some readers who are dis-

appointed The Times would

publish such a statement

because, in their eyes, it

undermines credibility.

It’s for these and other

reasons that when I’ve

found myself in mixed com-

pany I’ve been far less prone

to chat about cannabis than

alcohol, political affiliation

or even religion.

My experience is that

other professionals are

similarly hesitant. Stereo-

types are a lot of things,

including debilitating. But

I’m one of roughly 900,000

people who use cannabis in

Los Angeles County, an

LZ GRANDERSON

A pot policy that

is reefer madness

As legalization grows, pro leagues

need to change marijuana rules

[SeeGranderson,D7]

Fewer playing

prep football

Fear of head injuries is

cited, as number of

participants in state

drops for the fourth

consecutive year. D2

Weddle recalls

time with Rivers

The Rams’ new safety

fondly remembers the

lessons he learned from

the Chargers’ veteran

quarterback. D3

The high-flying, high-

powered Air Raid offense,

hyped over a long, somber

summer as the philoso-

phical savior upon which

USC’s hopes hinge this foot-

ball season, took exactly

three practices to install.

With a new system in

place, USC coach Clay Hel-

ton understood this spring

would be far different from

the previous three.

He’d spoken at length

with new offensive coordi-

nator Graham Harrell

about his plans to radically

simplify the offense.

The architect of USC’s

new scheme didn’t believe

in a thick playbook; the

copy given to players, con-

sisting of no more than a few

pages, could barely be de-

scribed as a “book” at all.

The Trojans’ entire sys-

tem, once cumbersome and

complex, would be stream-

lined and stripped of any un-

necessary verbiage or con-

cepts.

But three days? Until he

saw it for himself, Helton

couldn’t believe a system

could come together quite so

quickly.

Before the first week fin-

ished, players who struggled

to pick up past playbooks

seemed to already grasp the

new one.

So the staff installed the

system again. And again.

Then, twice more for good

measure.

By the end of spring, USC

had run through Harrell’s of-

fense five times, and with

each new iteration, its of-

fense appeared noticeably

sharper.

That very sequence, as

disciples of the Air Raid

would tell you, is the entire

point.

CLAY HELTONbelieves the Air Raid will be better And as USC begins fall

for the Trojans than previous complicated systems.

Marcio Jose SanchezAssociated Press

By Ryan Kartje

New arrivals

bolster Bruins

Large influx of new-

comers doesn’t concern

UCLA’s Chip Kelly. D6

After a 5-7 season,

Trojans waste no time

getting acquainted

with Air Raid offense.

[SeeUSC, D6]

Solution is simple for Helton

Who needs

a green light?

Throughout his career,
Mike Trout has been re-
luctant to swing at 3-0
pitches, but his patient
approach usually pays off.
How he has fared when
getting ahead in the count:

Count Avg. OBP. SLG.

1-0 .406 .406 .851

2-0 .495 .482 1.000

2-1 .444 .456 .831

3-0 .200* .975 .200

3-1 .446 .746 .936

Trout is one for five with 197 walks
when facing 3-0 pitches.

He’s done.

Kenley Jansen didn’t have to

be told this is how he’s viewed. He

already knew.

“That’s good,” he said, nod-

ding his head.

Good?

“I like it,” he said. “Think what

you want to think. It’s your opin-

ion. I don’t care. I know who I

am.”

The smile and laugh that accompanied the

declaration was evidence that Jansen is the

same upbeat fellow he’s always been. But is he

the same pitcher?

In the aftermath of a trade deadline at which

the Dodgers failed to upgrade their sponta-

neously combustible bullpen, the question is

more pertinent than ever. Winning a World

Series will require the kind of superhuman

effort from Jansen that he hasn’t produced in at

least a couple of years.

“Yeah, defi-

DYLAN HERNANDEZ

WHILEKenley Jansen’s velocity has

dipped, his earned-run average has risen.

Harry HowGetty Images

Despite struggle,

Jansen keeping

upbeat attitude

[SeeHernandez, D5]