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One moment, you’re a famous baseball player with your trade card. And the next second, it’s someone else’s face looking back at you. Not a look-alike, but a member of the team. Instead of ignoring it, Mike Trout took a pen and made the mix-up into a funny moment.

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This now-famous event happened in 2018, the same year that Trout had a great season. He won another Silver Slugger with a .312 batting average, 39 home runs, 79 RBIs, and a league-best 1.088 OPS. And the same year, Topps, who print cards of players, made a mistake that still gets everyone. They put an Angels bat-boy on Trout’s card.

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The story recently resurfaced on social media after Topps shared it on Instagram. The caption read, “Mike Trout set the record straight 🤣💯 Back in 2018, an Angels bat boy was featured on a Mike Trout card as a nod to a famous error card from 1969. When Trout saw the card, he took matters into his own hands ✍️.” Trout gave an autograph on the card, along with the crucial note, “This isn’t Me.” Simply, a playful reaction!

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The card story didn’t just come randomly. A few weeks ago, djs_sportscards posted a video that pointed out Topps’s humorous printing mistake. They included an Angels bat boy instead of Trout, all in a love tribute to that famous error card from 1969. What happened in 1969? The Topps printed photo of the team’s bat boy, Leonard Garcia, instead of Aurelio Rodriguez. Meanwhile, the Trout clip spread quickly, and fans were already talking about it when he joined in with some fun and swagger. He commented, “🔥🔥🔥 Need one!!” 

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Now, let’s take a look behind the scenes: that bat-boy? His name is Ramon Flores, and he’s a player in his own right. He played 12 games with the Yankees in 2015, hitting 7 times and posting an OPS of.469. As of now, he is doing well in the Mexican League, hitting .323/.424/.453 with Diablos Rojos del Mexico in 2024.

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Meanwhile, Trout is still playing right field with style and hitting well. In 2025, he had a good .240 batting average in about 325 at-bats, hit 20 home runs, drove in 52 runs, and had an OPS of .825. And just a few days back, he reached a milestone and is all set to achieve the next.

Mike Trout hits 200th HR at home, eyes 400

In 2025, Mike Trout is still a powerful offensive player. Even though a knee problem is making it hard for him to play defense, he’s still getting hits. As of early August, he had hit 398 career home runs, and his 200th came at Angel Stadium on August 7 against the Rays.

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That big hit came in a stunning three-run smash off Shane Baz. And that hit brought the Angels back into the game with a huge 433-foot drive. It wasn’t just any home run. It was his 20th home run of the year. Although they lost by 4-5, that homer was the highlight.

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Trout isn’t just going after numbers. He’s making history. With this home shot, he became the only player in MLB history to hit at least 200 home runs and steal 100 bases in the same stadium. This shows how rare it is for him to have both power and speed.

Trout is very close to a historical milestone. He needs just two more home runs to achieve 400 career home runs. He said, “I’ve definitely been thinking about it.” He also said that what matters most is trusting his cage practice and applying it to each game. Are you excited to watch him reach one of his career-defining moments?

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Written by

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Vishnupriya Agrawal

1,511 Articles

Vishnupriya Agrawal is a Golf Writer at EssentiallySports, covering the PGA Tour and LPGA with a focus on breaking news, player controversies, and the stories that run alongside competitive golf. Her reporting moves across player movement, ranking shifts, and the moments that generate fan debate alongside the quieter human ones that tend to get buried in a tournament week. She covered the 2026 U.S. Open at Shinnecock Hills extensively, reporting on Jon Rahm's on-course outburst and the USGA's response, the crowd confrontations involving Rory McIlroy and Wyndham Clark, and Miles Russell's Father's Day caddie arrangement, which the USGA approved as a one-off exception. Before joining EssentiallySports, Vishnupriya worked as a freelance sports writer, developing a research-driven approach across formats and audiences. At ES, that carries through to her full range of golf coverage, from prize money breakdowns and earnings profiles to the off-course developments and player decisions that often explain what happens on the course.

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Pratyusha Srivastava

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