Harold Arthur Trosky Jr. (September 29, 1936 – November 23, 2012) was an American professional baseball player who appeared as a pitcher in Major League Baseball in two games for the Chicago White Sox during the season. Born in

Cleveland, Ohio Cleveland ( ), officially the City of Cleveland, is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located in the northeastern part of the state, it is situated along the southern shore of Lake Erie, across the U.S. ...

, he was the son of Hal Trosky Sr., the

Indians Indian or Indians may refer to: Peoples South Asia * Indian people, people of Indian nationality, or people who have an Indian ancestor ** Non-resident Indian, a citizen of India who has temporarily emigrated to another country * South Asia ...

' slugging first baseman who played 11 seasons in the major leagues. Hal Jr. threw and batted right-handed, stood tall and weighed . Trosky grew up in Iowa, his father's native state, and signed with the White Sox as a first baseman in 1954 after graduating from St. Patrick's High School in

Cedar Rapids Cedar Rapids () is the second-largest city in Iowa, United States and is the county seat of Linn County. The city lies on both banks of the Cedar River, north of Iowa City and northeast of Des Moines, the state's capital and largest city. ...

. But he was plagued by injuries during his first two professional seasons in the minor leagues,Johnson, Bill, ''Hal Trosky Jr.,''
Society for American Baseball Research Biography Project and was converted to pitcher in 1956. After winning 36 games over his first three campaigns the mound, Trosky was called up the ChiSox in September 1958. Late in the month, he appeared in two games as a reliever, both of them at

Comiskey Park Comiskey Park was a baseball park in Chicago, Illinois, located in the Armour Square neighborhood on the near-southwest side of the city. The stadium served as the home of the Chicago White Sox of the American League from 1910 through 1990. Buil ...

. On September 25, against the

Detroit Tigers The Detroit Tigers are an American professional baseball team based in Detroit. The Tigers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the American League (AL) Central division. One of the AL's eight charter franchises, the club was f ...

, he entered the game in the fifth

inning In baseball, softball, and similar games, an inning is the basic unit of play, consisting of two halves or frames, the "top" (first half) and the "bottom" (second half). In each half, one team bats until three outs are made, with the other team ...

with Detroit ahead 5–0. He allowed a

single Single may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * Single (music), a song release Songs * "Single" (Natasha Bedingfield song), 2004 * "Single" (New Kids on the Block and Ne-Yo song), 2008 * "Single" (William Wei song), 2016 * "Single", by ...

to the first hitter he faced, Billy Martin, but then struck out Tiger slugger

Charlie Maxwell Charles Richard Maxwell (born April 8, 1927) is an American former professional baseball outfielder who played 14 seasons in Major League Baseball with the Boston Red Sox (1950–52, 1954), Baltimore Orioles (1955), Detroit Tigers (1955– ...

, with Martin erased when he was

caught stealing In baseball, a runner is charged, and the fielders involved are credited, with a time caught stealing when the runner attempts to advance or lead off from one base to another without the ball being batted and then is tagged out by a fielder whil ...

. When Red Wilson grounded out to end the frame, Trosky had escaped unscathed from his MLB debut. Three days later, against the Kansas City Athletics, he relieved starter

Stover McIlwain Stover William McIlwain (September 22, 1939 – January 15, 1966), nicknamed "Smokey", was an American professional baseball player. A right-handed pitcher, he appeared in two games for the 1957– 58 Chicago White Sox, making his Major Leagu ...

, again in the fifth, but with Chicago ahead 3–1. This time, he hurled two innings, including the decisive fifth which made the game "official." By his second frame on the mound, the White Sox had increased their lead to 6–1. Trosky then allowed three runs (with one unearned) to the Athletics in the sixth, and departed the contest with the White Sox still leading at 6–4. When Chicago cruised to an 11–4 triumph, Trosky was credited with his first big-league victory. Retrosheetbr>box score (28 September 1958): "Chicago White Sox 11, Kansas City Athletics 4"
/ref> It would be his last MLB appearance and his only

decision Decision may refer to: Law and politics * Judgment (law), as the outcome of a legal case *Landmark decision, the outcome of a case that sets a legal precedent * ''Per curiam'' decision, by a court with multiple judges Books * ''Decision'' (nove ...

. In his two MLB games pitched, Trosky allowed five

hits Hits or H.I.T.S. may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Music * ''H.I.T.S.'', 1991 album by New Kids on the Block * ''...Hits'' (Phil Collins album), 1998 * ''Hits'' (compilation series), 1984–2006; 2014 - a British compilation album se ...

, two earned runs, and two

bases on balls A base on balls (BB), also known as a walk, occurs in baseball when a batter receives four pitches that the umpire calls '' balls'', and is in turn awarded first base without the possibility of being called out. The base on balls is defined in Se ...

, with one strikeout, in three full

innings pitched In baseball, innings pitched (IP) are the number of innings a pitcher has completed, measured by the number of batters and baserunners that are put out while the pitcher is on the pitching mound in a game. Three outs made is equal to one innin ...

. His minor league career ended in 1960 after seven seasons, and Trosky returned to Cedar Rapids, where he spent fifty years in the insurance field. He died at 76 in Hiawatha, Iowa, on November 23, 2012.

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* {{DEFAULTSORT:Trosky, Hal Jr. 1936 births 2012 deaths Baseball players from Cleveland Businesspeople from Iowa Chicago White Sox players Colorado Springs Sky Sox (WL) players Davenport DavSox players Deaths from cancer in Iowa Deaths from lung cancer Duluth-Superior White Sox players Indianapolis Indians players Major League Baseball pitchers Memphis Chickasaws players Nashville Vols players Sportspeople from Cedar Rapids, Iowa

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References

External links