It's now an argument to consider: Is Betts poised to pass Trout as the best player of their generation? Meanwhile, with Trout sitting out so many games in the past several years, Betts started making a run at Trout for best player of their generation. Mike Schmidt, 1974-80 (8.2 average WAR per season)Passan predicts MLB mega-contracts Who will be the next star to get $100 million? Millennials (1981-96)Barry Bonds' early peak years produced three MVP awards, but he probably wasn't the most iconic player of his time. Generation Alpha (2010-25)Mookie Betts has been slowly closing the gap in WAR on Mike Trout over the past several seasons.