Hal Trosky (troskha02)

Harold Arthur Trosky Jr.
(Hal or Hoot)

• Bats Right, Throws Right
• Height 6' 3", Weight 205 lb.
• High School St. Patrick's High School (Cedar Rapids)
• Debut September 25, 1958
• Final Game September 28, 1958
• Born September 29, 1936 in Cleveland, OH USA
• Died November 23, 2012 in Hiawatha, IA USA

BR page

Biographical Information

Hal Trosky Jr. was the son of Hal Trosky and a cousin of minor leaguer Nate Frese. Dixie Howell played with both Hal Troskys.

He had one win in 2 major league games. On September 28, 1958, he pitched for the Chicago White Sox against the Kansas City Athletics. He came on in relief of Stover McIlwain and pitched 2 innings, giving up 4 hits, 2 earned runs, 2 walks and no strikeouts. The White Sox won the game, 11-4, scoring the decisive runs in the 5th inning with Trosky on the mound.

Trosky made his organized baseball debut with the Colorado Springs Sky Sox in 1954 as a first baseman, and hit a home run is his first at-bat.

Trosky played first base in the minors from 1954 to 1955, and then became a pitcher. He went 14-10 with the Davenport DavSox in 1957 and 13-9 with two minor league teams in 1958. He pitched a no-hitter in June 1958. His career minor league record was 44-30 while his minor league batting average was .244.

His nephew Nathan "Nate" Trosky was an All-American baseball player while at Hawaii Pacific University and has coached various European teams.

According to the SABR biography of Trosky, a variety of people thought he should have been given more chances at the major league level by the White Sox. Trosky believed that his future was not bright with the team, so he left baseball and went into insurance, working successfully in the field for many years. The White Sox continued to send him contracts for years, and didn't release him until over a decade later.

The White Sox of the time were consistently fielding top teams, and it would have been hard to break onto a staff that featured successful veterans such as Early Wynn and Billy Pierce. Young Barry Latman, a year older than Trosky, was also struggling to find a spot on the staff and eventually was traded to the Cleveland Indians where he was used more frequently. Trosky, for his part, wasn't willing to wait and see if the White Sox would ever use him or move him.

Related Sites

• Hal Trosky Jr. at the SABR Bio Project