Hal Trosky


Harold Arthur Trosky Sr., born Harold Arthur Trojovsky, was an American professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball as a first baseman for the Cleveland Indians and the Chicago White Sox. Trosky, who had a career batting average of.302, is notable for being the 1936 American League RBI champion as a member of the Cleveland Indians. He was inducted into the Cleveland Indians Hall of Fame in 1951.

Baseball career

Trosky was born in Norway, Iowa. He batted left-handed and threw right-handed.
Trosky had a career.302 batting average, with a high of.343 in 1936. He hit 228 career home runs and had 1,012 RBIs. He had 1,561 career hits. His 216 HRs with the Indians ranks him fifth on the team's all-time list, behind Earl Averill, Manny Ramirez, Albert Belle, and Jim Thome. His best numbers came in his third full year in the major leagues, 1936, when he led the American League in RBIs and total bases. His 162 RBIs also set a team record that stood for 63 years, while his 405 total bases that year remain a franchise best. He also had a career-high 42 home runs,.343 batting average, 216 hits, and a.644 slugging percentage. Despite being hailed as the next Babe Ruth, he is widely considered one of the best players to never make an All-Star team. The reason for this omission was the ill-fortune of being an American League first baseman at the same time as Hall of Fame first basemen Lou Gehrig, Jimmie Foxx and Hank Greenberg.
Starting in 1938, Trosky started experiencing near constant migraine headaches, which began to affect his vision. After nearly being hit by a pitch, he announced on July 12, 1941, to Indians manager Roger Peckinpaugh and reporters, "a fellow can't go on like this forever. If I can't find some relief, I'll simply have to give up and spend the rest of my days on my farm in Iowa." Peckinpaugh replaced Trosky with Oscar Grimes. Trosky retired in 1946 at age 33.
His son, Hal Trosky Jr., pitched briefly with the White Sox in 1958.

Highlights