Paul Howard "Dizzy" Trout (June 29, 1915 – February 28, 1972) was an American professional

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding t ...

player. He played in

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...

as a right-handed

pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("pitches") the baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of retiring a batter, who attempts to either make contact with the pitched ball or draw ...

from to , most notably as a member of the Detroit Tigers team that finished either in first or second place in the American League pennant races between 1944 and 1947 and won the

1945 World Series The 1945 World Series was the championship series in Major League Baseball for the 1945 season. The 42nd edition of the World Series, it matched the American League champion Detroit Tigers against the National League champion Chicago Cubs. Th ...

. The two-time All-Star player was the American League wins leader in 1943 and, was the league ERA leader in 1944. In , Trout made a brief comeback attempt at the age of 42 with the

Baltimore Orioles The Baltimore Orioles are an American professional baseball team based in Baltimore. The Orioles compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. As one of the American League's eight charter ...

. He also played for the

Boston Red Sox The Boston Red Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Boston. The Red Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. Founded in as one of the American League's eigh ...

1939–1942

Trout was born in

Sandcut, Indiana Sandcut is an unincorporated community in Otter Creek Township, Vigo County, in the U.S. state of Indiana. It is part of the Terre Haute metropolitan area The Terre Haute Metropolitan Statistical Area, also known as the Wabash Valley, is the ...

. He first played professionally in 1935 with the Terre Haute Tots in the Three-I League before signing with the Tigers in 1939. In his first four seasons (1939–1942), Dizzy Trout never had a winning record and totaled 33 wins and 44 losses. Even in 1940, as the Tigers won the

American League The American League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the American League (AL), is one of two leagues that make up Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada. It developed from the Western League, a minor league ...

pennant, Trout finished 3-7.

1943–1947

Dizzy Trout was classified 4-F due to hearing impairmen

and was not accepted for military service during World War II. It was during the war years that Trout had his best seasons. Trout had a losing record in his first four seasons, but in the next four years (1943–1946) he turned into one of the best pitchers in the

, winning 82 and losing 54. Dizzy Trout led the

in wins (20) in 1943, but his best season was 1944, when he won 27 games and lost 14. He led the American League that year in earned run average, ERA (2.12), complete games (33),

shutout In team sports, a shutout ( US) or clean sheet ( UK) is a game in which one team prevents the other from scoring any points. While possible in most major sports, they are highly improbable in some sports, such as basketball. Shutouts are usuall ...

s (7), and innings pitched (352-1/3). He also finished second in the league to his Detroit teammate,

Hal Newhouser Harold Newhouser (May 20, 1921 – November 10, 1998), nicknamed "Prince Hal," was an American professional baseball player. In Major League Baseball (MLB), he pitched 17 seasons on the Detroit Tigers and Cleveland Indians, from 1939 through 19 ...

, in wins (27) and strikeouts (144). The Tigers' pitching duo of Trout and Newhouser won 56 games in 1944 and finished 1-2 in ERA, wins, innings pitched, strikeouts, complete games, and shutouts. Newhouser and Trout also finished 1-2 in the American League MVP voting, with Trout trailing Newhouser in the voting by only 4 votes. Trout's pitching totals were not as impressive in 1945, but he was a workhorse in the pennant drive. He pitched six games and won four over a nine-game late-season stretch. In Game 4 of the

, Trout beat the Cubs 4-1 on a five-hitter. The Tigers won the 1945 World Series, and Trout went 1-1 with an ERA of 0.66 in the Series.

1947–1952

From 1947–1949, Trout's performance dropped off, as he failed to achieve a winning record, and had a total record of 23-31. Aside from his pitching, Trout could hit for power. He hit 20

home run In baseball, a home run (abbreviated HR) is scored when the ball is hit in such a way that the batter is able to circle the bases and reach home plate safely in one play without any errors being committed by the defensive team. A home run i ...

s, tying him for 11th all-time in home runs by pitchers. He hit a 9th inning

grand slam Grand Slam most often refers to: * Grand Slam (tennis), one player or pair winning all four major annual tournaments, or the tournaments themselves Grand Slam or Grand slam may also refer to: Games and sports * Grand slam, winning category te ...

against the Washington Senators on July 28, 1949, helping the Tigers to a victory. In 1950, Trout and the Tigers both turned things around. Trout won 13 and lost only 5, and the Tigers won 95 games and narrowly lost the

pennant to the

Yankees The New York Yankees are an American professional baseball team based in the New York City borough of the Bronx. The Yankees compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. They are one of ...

. On June 3, 1952, Trout was sent to the

in a blockbuster trade that sent

Walt Dropo Walt is a masculine given name, generally a short form of Walter, and occasionally a surname. Notable people with the name include: People Given name * Walt Arfons (1916-2013), American drag racer and competition land speed record racer * Walt B ...

Don Lenhardt Donald Eugene Lenhardt (October 4, 1922 – July 9, 2014) was an American outfielder, first baseman, third baseman, scout and coach in American Major League Baseball. In his playing days, he stood tall, weighed , and threw and batted right-hande ...

Johnny Pesky John Michael Pesky (born John Michael Paveskovich; February 27, 1919 – August 13, 2012), nicknamed "The Needle" and "Mr. Red Sox", was an American professional baseball player, manager and coach. He was a shortstop and third baseman during a ...

Fred Hatfield Fred James Hatfield (March 18, 1925 – May 22, 1998), nicknamed "Scrap Iron", was a Major League Baseball infielder who played nine seasons in the Major Leagues with the Boston Red Sox (1950–52), Detroit Tigers (1952–56), Chicago White So ...

, and

Bill Wight William Robert Wight (April 12, 1922 – May 17, 2007) was an American pitcher in Major League Baseball (MLB) who played from through for the New York Yankees (1946–47), Chicago White Sox (1948–50), Boston Red Sox (1951–52), Detroit Ti ...

to the Tigers for Trout,

George Kell George Clyde Kell (August 23, 1922 – March 24, 2009) was an American Major League Baseball third baseman who played 15 seasons for the Philadelphia Athletics (1943–1946), Detroit Tigers (1947–1952), Boston Red Sox (1952–1954), Chicago Whi ...

Hoot Evers Walter Arthur "Hoot" Evers (February 8, 1921 – January 25, 1991) was an American baseball outfielder, scout, coach, and executive. Evers played professional baseball from 1941 to 1942 and 1946 to 1956, including 12 seasons in Major League Bas ...

, and

Johnny Lipon John Joseph Lipon (November 10, 1922 – August 17, 1998) was an American Major League Baseball shortstop for the Detroit Tigers, Boston Red Sox, St. Louis Browns and Cincinnati Redlegs over the course of nine seasons (1942; 1946; 1948–1954). T ...

. Trout started only 17 games for the Red Sox, and retired at the end of the 1952 season. Trout was a very good hitting pitcher in his 15-year major league career. He posted a .213

batting average Batting average is a statistic in cricket, baseball, and softball that measures the performance of batters. The development of the baseball statistic was influenced by the cricket statistic. Cricket In cricket, a player's batting average is ...

(205-for-961) scoring 99 runs with 28 doubles, 7 triples, 20 home runs, 110 RBI and drew 59 bases on balls. He was in double figures in RBI in five seasons, with a high of 24 RBI in

1944 Events Below, the events of World War II have the "WWII" prefix. January * January 2 – WWII: ** Free French General Jean de Lattre de Tassigny is appointed to command French Army B, part of the Sixth United States Army Group in Nor ...

Retirement

After retiring from baseball, Trout called play-by-play for the Tigers on radio WKMH and TV

WJBK-TV WJBK (channel 2) is a television station in Detroit, Michigan, United States, airing programming from the Fox network. Owned and operated by the network's Fox Television Stations division, the station maintains studios and transmitter facilitie ...

from 1953–1955. He also hosted '' The Knot-Hole Gang'', a sports show aimed at children. Trout broadcast the Tigers games with

Van Patrick Van Patrick (August 15, 1916 – September 29, 1974) was an American sportscaster, best known for his play-by-play work with the Detroit Lions and Detroit Tigers. Patrick, self-nicknamed "The Ole Announcer", called Lions games from 1950 until hi ...

and became popular with Detroit fans for his self-effacing humor, scrambled syntax, and folksy demeanor. In 1956, Trout ran unsuccessfully for sheriff in Wayne County as a Republican, losing to long-time incumbent Andrew C. Baird. He attempted a return to baseball with the

in 1957 at age 42. Trout made two appearances, allowed three earned runs, and retired one batter, for an 81.00 ERA. After being released by Baltimore, he joined the

Chicago White Sox The Chicago White Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The White Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. The team is owned by Jerry Reinsdorf, and ...

as a pitching instructor and then worked with that organization's front office until his death from stomach cancer at the age of 56 in 1972 at

Harvey, Illinois Harvey is a city in Cook County, Illinois, United States. The population was 20,324 at the 2020 census. Harvey is bordered by the villages of Dixmoor and Riverdale to the north; Dolton, Phoenix, and South Holland to the east; East Hazel C ...

. He was inducted into the Indiana Baseball Hall of Fame in 1981. Trout's son, Steve, pitched for 12 years in the major leagues.

References

Dizzy Trout – A Major League Talent

External links