Mike Trout hits for the cycle, becomes youngest player in AL history to do so

After Mike Trout's monster rookie season in 2012, many believed it wasn't a matter of if, but when he would achieve some of baseball's most distinguished feats. Like, for instance, hitting for the cycle.

Trout can check that off his to-do list after Tuesday night's Los Angeles Angels game. All told, he was 4-for-5 with two runs, five RBIs and a stolen base. His at-bats went like this: strikeout in the first inning, single in the third, triple in the fourth, double in the sixth and in the eighth inning — with everyone watching to see if he could do it — a home run to complete the cycle.

"I didn't really think of it until about the eighth inning. I'm in the outfield, I'm like, 'Man, I got a triple, double and a single,'" Trout said on the field, in a post-game interview. "And I got to 2-0 there, and I said, 'Hey, if I'm going to hit one, it's going to be this pitch.' So I hit it and it went out."

A few notes of historical context:

• Trout is the youngest player in American League history — at 21 years, 288 days — to hit for the cycle. Mel Ott, who achieved the cycle in 1929 at age 20 — is the youngest overall.

• Other younger-than-22 cycle-hitters: Cesar Cedeno (1972), Arky Vaughan (1933) and Alex Rodriguez (1997), .

• Trout is the first hitter this season to hit for the cycle.

• He's the sixth Angel overall to do it, and first since Chone Figgins in 2006.

The Angels didn't really need Trout to go nuts at the plate. They routed the Seattle Mariners 12-0. Josh Hamilton hit a two-run homer in the first inning and Albert Pujols singled in a run.

But for the Angels, who have performed far below expectations thus far, Trout's cycle is a good opportunity to get excited. The team has won three straight game and are now are a game a half behind the Mariners for third place in AL West.

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