Mike Trout is great! You know this already, but really, we don’t, as a baseball-loving society, spend enough time appreciating him. We mostly bemoan that this weather-loving generational talent isn’t more interesting at the times he isn’t holding a bat, but that’s a missing the forest for the trees issue we all need to get over.

Trout rules. Here are some recent ways he has ruled:

In his last 37 plate appearances, Trout is batting .696 with a .778 on-base percentage

Combine all of Trout’s June together instead of just his most recent stretch, and he’s batting .448/.554/.776 for the month.

Even with this absurd month, his OPS for the season has risen just 50 points because he was already hitting .302/.444/.663 through May.

If you can believe it, Trout is outpacing Mark McGwire’s 1998 season in OPS+ (219 to 216), in which McGwire hit 70 homers.

in OPS+ (219 to 216), in which McGwire hit 70 homers. Steals: Trout isn’t lauded for them much, but he has 13 against one caught stealing this year, on top of everything else.

Failure hasn’t been a thing for Trout this year: he didn’t get on base Opening Day, and it’s only happened eight other times out of 74 all season.

As in the past, Trout hasn’t failed to get on base for more than two games in a row: a feat he’s managed his entire career.

Speaking of getting on base, Trout is leading in walks (60) and on-base percentage (.469).

Can you imagine what his slugging would be if he didn’t play his home games in a pitcher’s park? Even with that, it’s still a career-high .689 this summer.

In case the McGwire note above didn’t excite you, just know that Trout is also on pace for the greatest OPS+ season , non-Bonds division, of the Expansion Era.

, non-Bonds division, of the Expansion Era. Strikeouts aren’t a problem anymore, not that they really ever hindered him before: Trout has more walks (64) than strikeouts (60) in 2018.

Trout? He’s good. OK, that one isn't a fun fact so much as just straight truth, but still, it’s important that we all know this.

Twelve facts seems like exactly enough facts to get across the point I was hoping to this morning, so let’s move on to the rest of the newsletter.