Just don't come by the house when the whole family gets together for a day of Ping-Pong, Scrabble, Monopoly or darts. It's pretty cool to look up in the stands and have your family there.'' All of the sacrifices and money they spent on me. "One of my goals is to let them retire early. "I can't thank them enough,'' Trout says. Now, it's his turn, and the Trouts live in a beautiful home on a four-acre lot just outside of town. This is why Trout insisted last year that his parents retire. Well, once you know the family, you see where he gets it from." Everyone talks about what a great, young, polite kid Mike is. Says Eddie Bane, the former Angels scouting director who made the decision to draft Trout: "The way Mike was raised, it was like the Ozzie and Harriet family. It was tough on Mom and Dad not to go everywhere when he traveled to showcases and traveling teams, but it worked out well." "We weren't making a lot of money, not as school teachers," Jeff Trout says, "but we made enough to get by. Debbie was a teaching aide for 3- and 4-year-olds. They became teachers, with Jeff teaching American and world history at Millville High and coaching the baseball and football teams. He and Debbie, along with daughter Teal, moved back to Millville, where Jeff was a local sports legend. 321 in 1986 he decided it was time to get a real job. 303 career batting average in four minor-league seasons, wasn't called up to the big leagues after hitting. So he and his family sat idly by on a bench in Studio 42, watching 24 players get picked ahead of him.
If anything, Trout was becoming a sympathetic figure on draft night, as the only player who accepted MLB's invitation to be at their TV studios in New York. Yet, 21 other teams did, including the Arizona Diamondbacks and Washington Nationals twice. The Phillies, without a first-round pick in the 2009 draft, never had a chance to pass on Trout. "Ruben came to our town and even talked to Mike. "Eat your heart out, (Phillies general manager) Ruben Amaro," says Shannon, whose 90-year-old mother, Jean, stays awake until the wee hours watching Trout's games on the West Coast. Pre-game events included the Millville High marching band playing, Millville mayor Michael Santiago throwing out the first pitch and the high school choir singing the national anthem. The game was billed by the Phillies as "Millville Night," with the residents paying $30 to sit in the upper-deck. "It was an unbelievable feeling," said Trout, who went 1-for-5 in the 4-3 win.
Indeed it was, as Trout received a standing ovation before his first at-bat.
It means a lot, coming from a small town,'' said Trout, who's last appearance at the ballpark was during the 2008 World Series - as a fan tailgating with friends. "This is about the biggest thing that's ever happened around these parts."Īs many as 8,000 of Millville's 28,000 residents loaded onto buses and into cars to make the drive to Citizens Bank Park on Tuesday to see Trout make his Philadelphia-area debut. "The whole town is coming, you kidding me," says Steve Stanick, president of the Millville American Little League where Trout played. "Hey, anyone going to Mike Trout's game Tuesday night?" yells Jim from behind the counter. You can feel the energy on Main Street at Jim's Lunch, where Jim Maul's family has served the locals since 1923. "You don't hear anyone in this town complaining anymore because Mikey's doing well, the Angels are only four games back (entering Tuesday), so it's not all bad."