Mike Trout at 28: These facts put his unprecedented career arc into perspective

No. 27 is turning 28 years old today. 

It's Mike Trout's birthday. And why not celebrate the best major league baseball player on the planet? 

At 28, Trout already might be one of the best players ever to play the game. 

He ranks in the top 10 in almost every major category before a player’s 28th birthday, including home runs, walks and on-base percentage.

And just like fine wine, he gets better with age. The two-time American League MVP and eight All-Star is having perhaps his best season in the big leagues. He is on pace to break career-highs in home runs, RBI and OPS this season. 

He's the gift that keeps on giving, except for today, when the Angels have an off day. A look at his major league resume and how he compares to some of baseball's all-time greats:

WAR, what is it good for

Trout's 71.6 career wins above replacement (based on Baseball-Reference) is the highest all-time by a position player by their 28th birthday (Ty Cobb is second at 69.0). At this juncture, he's already passed 27 Hall of Famers in WAR. 

He currently ranks 60th all time on the WAR list. It's entirely possible that by the end of this season he will pass the Derek Jeter, Larry Walker, Jim Thome, Frank Thomas and Reggie Jackson. He began the season with 64.2 career WAR. He's passed 27 Hall of Famers, including Barry Larkin, Gary Carter, Tony Gwynn, Eddie Murray, Ivan Rodriguez, Edgar Martinez, Ryne Sandberg, Craig Biggio, Andre Dawson and Willie McCovey alone this season.

Mick vs. the Millville Meteor

Homer happy

His  278 career home runs rank seventh all-time by a player before turning 28, trailing only Alex Rodriguez (322), Jimmie Foxx (302), Eddie Mathews (299), Ken Griffey Jr. (294), Albert Pujols (282) and Mickey Mantle (280).

The watchful eye

Early in his career, pitchers quickly figured out that throwing Trout a healthy diet of strikes was a bad idea. He adjusted accordingly and is one of the game's most prolific walkers. His 781 free passes to date rank fourth all-time by a player before turning 28. Only Mantle (892), Mel Ott (815) and Foxx (781) drew more walks prior to their 28th birthday. 

Trout's 97 intentional walks ranks eighth in that category. 

OPS monster

A 1.001 career OPS puts Trout 11th among players who've yet to turn 28, which is ahead of some guys named Musial, Mantle and Mays. That's in large part thanks to his .582 slugging percentage, which is 13th for players before 28. 

A changing game

The majority of names giving Trout on competition on these lists played decades ago. The game has changed. Players strike out more – a lot more. As such, only one player has whiffed more before turning 28 than Trout has (1,088): Giancarlo Stanton of the New York Yankees (1,140).