Mike Trout Q&A: The Angels star talks belting drives and that viral quarantine trick shot from his balcony

The longest dinger to date by the MLB superstar traveled 163 yards. His longest drive on a course? Four-hundred-plus! Yep. Dude’s in the wrong sport.

There’s a YouTube video of you that went viral — you crushing a golf ball at a range. How far did it go?

I have no idea. We just all tried to hit it as far as we could. By the second or third swing, we started drawing a crowd. I went up there and the adrenaline was running pretty good. I connected with it and the ball went over the net.

Your longest recorded home run is 489 feet. How far would you say your longest drive has been?

Probably over 400 [yards]. It’s got to be a downhill par 5. If I’m hitting it straight, I’m anywhere from 330 to 380.

Do the Angels let you play golf during the season?

Yes. I play every off-day I get on the road.

Can golf negatively affect your baseball swing?

I don’t think so. One year I played in Albert Pujols’ charity tournament and the next day I hit for the cycle.

That answers that. What’s the lowest your handicap has been?

The best I got was probably down to a two, but now it’s bad. I’m probably shooting anywhere from a 76 to an 85.

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What sparked your interest in the game?

Watching Tiger on TV. I just loved how he played.

Ever make a hole in one?

Once. It was me, a couple of my buddies and my wife. It was, like, a 140-yard par 3, and it one-hopped and dunked right in. I knew it was a good shot, but once I saw it go in I went absolutely crazy.

Who’s the most famous person you’ve ever played a round with?

I tell you what, playing with Phil Mickelson was pretty cool.

He likes a good wager.

No, no, no, no, no. It was a friendly match.

Do you have any gameday superstitions?

Ask my teammates — they see me do crazy stuff on the bench: chewing gum, switching gum out.

Who’s the one pitcher you most hate to face?

I’d have to say Max Scherzer. I was happy when he went to the National League.

One of your baseball cards sold for $3.93 million at auction. Please tell me you own a copy of it.

I think that’s the only one I don’t have.

I was going to ask you what you did during the pandemic, but I saw a video on Instagram of you hitting a trick golf shot in your house. You chipped a ball from the second floor and it landed in a Solo cup on the first floor.

Yeah, me and my buddy were bored. It started outside. I was trying to hit one off the roof into a cup, but it was too windy with the ping-pong balls. So we went inside. It took me a couple of tries, but it plopped right in on the fly. Pretty cool.

Chris Nashawaty has written for Vanity Fair, Esquire and Sports Illustrated, and is the author of Caddyshack: The Making of a Hollywood Cinderella Story.