Mike Trout and His Wife Jessica Trout Say Their Son Is Due the Same Week as His Late Uncle’s Birthday, and Now Their Creating Awareness

Mike Trout and His Wife Jessica Trout Say Their Son Is Due the Same Week as His Late Uncle’s Birthday, and Now Their Creating Awareness

Just after celebrating his birthday in August 2018, the brother-in-law of Angels outfielder Mike Trout took his own life. But Aaron Cox wasn’t just Trout’s brother-in-law and he wasn’t just Jessica Trout’s brother, he was their best friend.

As Trout wrote in his Instagram tribute to him two years ago, “You made such an impact on my life since the day I first met you. You were an amazing person inside and out that showed us all how to live life to the fullest. Seeing and hearing about your impact on other people are all things that made me a better person every single day.”

Now, Mike and Jessica are expecting a baby boy; their first child together. Their son is due the same week as his Uncle’s birthday which is August 5.

And as a result of sharing that special week with Aaron, Mike and Jessica are using their son’s birth to bring awareness to mental health and suicide. As the couple revealed, they are partnering with Tiny Turnip to support the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention (AFSP).

During their collaboration, Mike and Jessica dreamed up a piece of artwork which incorporates a glove and a baseball to create a semicolon. The artwork was then created by Rachel Luzi and Jalynne Crawford.

The semicolon is often used as a message of affirmation and solidarity against suicide, depression, and other mental health issues. As the late Amy Bleuel, who was the founder of Project Semicolon, an organization dedicated to the prevention of suicide, explained, “a semicolon is used when an author could’ve chosen to end their sentence, but chose not to. The author is you and the sentence is your life.”

In the details of the artwork, the strings of the baseball are actually words of affirmation and around the glove reads, “Your game isn’t over yet.” As Jessica explained in a blog post, “Over the past few years since that tragic day, I’ve learned that struggles with mental health are far too common. In the United States, almost half of adults will experience a mental health illness during their lifetime. Yet the stigmas attached to them cause many of these people to suffer in silence, which can be debilitating and even deadly.”

It’s her and Mike’s goal through this collaboration with the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention to help those struggling with mental illness or thoughts of suicide to know deep down that they are “NEVER alone.”

“Our families participated in two “Out of the Darkness” walks this past Fall that the New Jersey chapter of AFSP organized and hosted. Watching our hometown, as well as people from all over the state, come together to share in their struggles, honor their loved one’s memories and spread awareness in their names was so emotional, yet so powerful! Mike & I want to continue to fan the flame of advocacy and awareness in the hopes that other families won’t have to experience the pain of losing a loved one in this way.”

Now people can purchase the artwork on a canvas, a baby onesie, a blanket, a t-shirt, a mug, or a tote bag to support the cause. “Our design is meant to empower those who are struggling to know it’s okay not to be okay, to seek help, and to know that their ‘game isn’t over yet!’ Jessica concluded.

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You can read the soon-to-be mom’s whole blog post here and watch their story in the video above. 

Sara Vallone

Sara Vallone has been a writer and editor for the last four and a half years. A graduate of Ohio University, she enjoys celebrity news, sports, and articles that enhance people's lives.