Mike Trout says he'll wear a hand guard, still will slide headfirst

Mike Trout was considerably sore and probably a little bit woozy, but he still made his way to Angel Stadium by late Wednesday afternoon, hours after undergoing surgery to repair the ulnar collateral ligament and dorsal capsule of his left thumb.

He wanted to be there in case Albert Pujols belted his 600th career home run.

"That's the first thing I think I told them coming out of surgery -- I wanted to come see Albert play that night," said Trout, the Los Angeles Angels' superstar center fielder, during a news conference prior to Saturday's game against the Minnesota Twins. "I told myself I couldn't miss it. I went out there to the dugout to watch his at-bats. I was definitely aching. I was in some pain."

It took a few days, but Trout did get to see Pujols make history when the slugger hit career homer No. 600 Saturday night.

As for his own status, Trout said he is "getting better" now. He will have the cast removed Sunday and will begin the rehab portion of his recovery Monday. When he does return -- in six to eight weeks, maybe sooner -- Trout will wear a guard on his left hand to protect him on the bases.

And he will continue to slide headfirst, even though doing so in Miami last Sunday prompted his first career trip to the disabled list. The 25-year-old has been sliding headfirst ever since he began playing baseball. He tried learning to slide feetfirst once, but it never felt comfortable and he quickly scrapped it.

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