Ezra Shaw/Getty Images
The best way to understand Mike Trout, the outfielder for baseball’s Los Angeles Angels, who on Tuesday reportedly agreed to the richest contract in North American sports, is as the perfect reflection of his sport.
Little known to many Americans, including some sports fans, Trout, 27, is the best player in a game that has frequently been mocked as a fading form of entertainment with primarily regional audiences.
Baseball is often dismissed as far less enticing than the N.F.L., which is believed to bring in more than $14 billion annually even with its health and safety issues.