Having once-in-a-generation players on the same roster at the same time calls for something legendary, right? It was more than a decade ago when Kevin Durant, James Harden, and Russell Westbrook played their final game together for the Oklahoma City Thunder. The franchise had drafted three future MVPs, who made it to the NBA Finals in 2012, only to fall short at the end. This plot hasn’t been all that different in Major League Baseball.

For half a decade—2018 to 2023—Shohei Ohtani and Mike Trout, two unrepeatable talents, shared the same roster in Anaheim. Much like the Thunder’s big three, they never even reached the playoffs with the Los Angeles Angels.

Dan Patrick, on his show, recently drew this comparison. “In 10 years, somebody’s going to say, you know Shohei Ohtani and Mike Trout were on the same team? Like, oh, what’d they do? Nothing. It’s almost like, hey, Russell Westbrook and Kevin Durant and James Harden were on the same team at one time. And what did they do? Nothing.” He said.

The Big Three, despite making it to the NBA Finals in 2012, never won a ring before splitting up. Similarly, despite having the most iconic and powerful duo, the Angels never made it to the playoffs. They’ve been in a 10-year-long postseason drought, which is soon to be 11 once this season wraps up.

Yet, Trout still envisions his future with the Angels. Earlier this year, he made it clear to the fans, saying, “I want to win a championship here.” However, this season hasn’t been kind to either Trout or the Angels, who recently suffered an 11-2 loss against the Mariners. With a 69-81 record, the team is far from contending for a World Series title. Meanwhile, Trout’s prime years have come and gone, and the organization has struggled to assemble a competitive roster around him.

Speaking statistically, this season, Trout has 21 home runs and an OPS of .794 to his name. That isn’t bad, but it’s just not good enough for his standards. Just recently, in the Angels’ 4-3 win over the Twins, he slammed his 399th homer. After that feat, he admitted it was a relief to finally go deep. But it’s hard to ignore the harsh reality of Angels’ current state.

Could Mike Trout ever win a World Series with the Angels?

It hasn’t been under wraps, but at least it’s now official that the Angels will be missing the postseason once again. Following Sunday’s 11-2 loss against the Seattle Mariners, one doubt became downright clear. No matter what this team does, they seem to fall and end up not making it to the playoffs. After this season ends, it’ll mark their 11th consecutive season in which they’ve missed the postseason. It happens to be the current longest postseason drought in the league.

Over the course of Trout’s 15-plus years with the Angels, the team has only made one playoff appearance, which ended in a sweep by the Kansas City Royals in the 2024 ALDS. Despite possessing one of the game’s greatest talents, the organization has struggled to consistently build a competitive roster around him. In many ways, their situation echoes that of the Pittsburgh Pirates with Paul Skenes—both teams working to maximize the potential of generational players. Unfortunately, in the Angels’ case, many of Trout’s prime years have passed without the postseason success he undoubtedly deserved.

As Dan Patrick also pointed out, if Trout had been on a team like the Dodgers, he likely would have fit in perfectly. They could have fulfilled his postseason dreams, and he would have helped them get there—a clear win-win situation for both parties.

This season, the injury bug struck Trout hard again. At 34 years old, Trout was moved out of center field to right field in hopes of preserving his health and prolonging his career. The Angels last had a winning record in 2015, finishing 85-77, and since then, consistent success has been hard to achieve.

Despite his unparalleled talent and historic career, Mike Trout’s legacy with the Angels remains bittersweet. Over 15 seasons, his brilliance has dazzled fans and earned him countless individual accolades, yet team success and postseason glory have largely eluded him. The comparison to other great duos in sports, like Ohtani and the NBA’s Thunder trio, underscores the harsh reality of unmet potential due to organizational shortcomings. As Trout enters the later stages of his career, the question lingers: Will the Angels finally build a championship team worthy of his greatness, or will his remarkable prime be remembered for what could have been?