On April 28, 2012, two players who have turned out to be among the best in baseball reached the major leagues for good.
Bryce Harper made his major league debut April 28, 2012. He went 1-for-3 with a double and an RBI in Los Angeles against the Dodgers.
Mike Trout played in 40 games in 2011 but began 2012 with Triple-A Salt Lake. After hitting .403 in 20 games there to start the season, Trout received his second call-up to the big leagues -- and this one stuck. Trout was hitless April 28, 2012, and had one hit in three April games, but he picked up the pace in May, with five home runs, 15 RBIs and a .324 batting average.
Those two went on to win Rookie of the Year honors in their respective leagues that season. Since then? Trout was voted the 2014 American League MVP. Harper was the unanimous choice as the National League MVP last year.
On April 28 of this season, Harper’s Washington Nationals play the Philadelphia Phillies, and Trout’s Los Angeles Angels are off.
These two posted two of the four highest wins above replacement totals in a player’s age 22-or-younger season. Harper did so last year.
Here's a look back at what they have accomplished in the four years since April 28, 2012:
Harper
Last season, Harper became the fourth-youngest MVP in the history of the award and the youngest NL MVP since Johnny Bench in 1970. He was the youngest player ever to win the award unanimously.
In his MVP season, Harper was the sixth player in the expansion era to lead the NL in runs, home runs and OPS in one season -– the first since Ryan Braun in 2012. Harper, who was six years younger than Braun was in 2012, was by far the youngest to do so.
Notable moments:
• Grand slam for 100th career HR, April 14, 2016:
Harper’s 100th career home run was also the first grand slam of his career, making him the first player in major league history whose 100th home run was his first grand slam (source: Elias Sports Bureau). His 100th home run came at age 23 years, 181 days old, and Elias also notes that that makes him the eighth-youngest in major league history to reach 100 home runs.
• Three-home-run game, May 6, 2015:
Harper’s only three-homer game came at 22 years, 202 days old. He was the youngest player with a 3-home-run game since Joe Lahoud in 1969.
• Four-hit games, Sept. 11, 2012, and April 17, 2013:
At 19 years, 331 days old at the time of his first four-hit game, Harper was the youngest player with a four-hit game since Andruw Jones in September 1996.
Trout
Trout led AL position players in WAR again in 2015, the fourth straight season he’s done so. He has by far the highest WAR of any position player since his first full season in 2012.
With a second-place finish in the 2015 AL MVP vote, Trout finished in the top two for the fourth straight season. Three other players in MLB history have done that: Barry Bonds (twice), Yogi Berra and Stan Musial (note: BBWAA began voting on the award in 1931).
By the numbers:
• 12: Four-hit games -- The only players with more since 2012 are Miguel Cabrera and Ben Revere.
• 6: Five-RBI games -- The only players with more since Trout’s debut are Chris Davis, Edwin Encarnacion and Nelson Cruz. Trout, at 20 years, 23 days old in his first such game, was the youngest with a five-RBI game since Jose Reyes in 2003.
• 8: Home run robberies -- Trout has dazzled in the outfield as well. His 8 home run robberies leads the majors since his debut.
And one year later …
On April 28, 2013, Nolan Arenado made his debut with the Colorado Rockies. He was 0-for-3 in a 4-2 loss at the Arizona Diamondbacks.
Arenado might not be mentioned in the same breath as Harper and Trout, but he has distinguished himself in his three seasons.
In the field, Arenado has won the NL Gold Glove at third base all three full seasons of his career. He tied Harper for the NL lead in home runs last season and led the league in total bases.