The new Tiger Woods-designed Trout National is a private course that only the luckiest golfers have had a chance to see. It’s known for its $100 million budget, as well as The Dugout, an amenity station built into the ground behind the 14th and 16th teeing areas, so you can watch tee shots from ground level. It’s also now home to one of the most brutal trade-deadline massacres in recent sports history.
Last Monday, Mike Trout took his Los Angeles Angels teammates to his brand-new course in Vineland, N.J., for a bit of team-bonding three-quarters of the way through the season. Unfortunately, the squad’s off day fell on the MLB trade deadline, and interim general manager John Mozeliak was in the mood to make some deals.
According to Ken Rosenthal at The Athletic, three of the 12 players there (reliever Brent Suter, outfielder Jo Adell and reliever Ryan Zeferjahn) were traded mid-outing. And just for good measure, reliever Kirby Yates found out he was sent to the Pittsburgh Pirates in the car after leaving the course. That’s a full foursome ending up on different teams by day’s end.
This is what Trout National looks like, by the way, if you’re interested … or if you’re one of the traded Angels, who had other things on their mind mid-round.
“It seemed like every four or five holes someone was getting the call,” said a seemingly shell-shocked Trout. And Yates added that, “It was pretty wild watching everybody go. None of us have ever seen that many guys get traded at once. After somebody went, we just kept saying, ‘All right, who’s next?’”
There was one more Angel, right-hander José Soriano, traded that day, but he doesn’t play golf. He was back at the team’s hotel instead.
Suter, the first player to get traded on the course and an 11-year veteran, got a call on the practice putting green right before teeing off. His first question after the call was, “Can I finish the round? Can I golf?”
“I just instantly started hugging everybody,” he said. “Luckily, I was able to play the round and enjoy the last couple hours with the guys before I caught the last flight out of Philly to Atlanta.”
Soon after, Adell found out his fate on the 11th hole: “At least I got to play half the course, though. That’s the positive.” And then Zeferjahn was dealt between Nos. 12 and 13 during a rain delay.
GM Mozeliak wasn’t aware that a good portion of his team was at Trout National, but probably couldn’t have made it, even if he was in town. “I’m bummed I wasn’t invited,” he said. “I was a little tied up that morning.
“I guess if you’re going to get news like that, you might as well be having fun.”