View source for Dizzy Trout

{{Short description|American baseball player (1915–1972)}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=April 2023}}
{{Infobox baseball biography
|name=Dizzy Trout
|image=Dizzy Trout.jpg
|position=[[Pitcher]]
|birth_date={{birth date|1915|6|29}}
|birth_place=[[Sandcut, Indiana]], U.S.
|death_date={{death date and age|1972|2|28|1915|6|29}}
|death_place=[[Harvey, Illinois]], U.S.
|bats=Right
|throws=Right
|debutleague = MLB
|debutdate=April 25
|debutyear=1939
|debutteam=Detroit Tigers
|finalleague = MLB
|finaldate=September 11
|finalyear=1957
|finalteam=Baltimore Orioles
|statleague = MLB
|stat1label=[[Win–loss record (pitching)|Win–loss record]]
|stat1value=170–161
|stat2label=[[Earned run average]]
|stat2value=3.23
|stat3label=[[Strikeout]]s
|stat3value=1,256
|teams=
* [[Detroit Tigers]] ({{mlby|1939}}–{{mlby|1952}})
* [[Boston Red Sox]] ({{mlby|1952}})
* [[Baltimore Orioles]] ({{mlby|1957}})
|highlights=
* 2× [[Major League Baseball All-Star Game|All-Star]] ([[1944 Major League Baseball All-Star Game|1944]], [[1947 Major League Baseball All-Star Game|1947]])
* [[World Series champion]] ({{wsy|1945}})
* [[List of Major League Baseball annual wins leaders|AL wins leader]] (1943)
* [[List of Major League Baseball annual ERA leaders|MLB ERA leader]] (1944)
}}
'''Paul Howard''' "'''Dizzy'''" '''Trout''' (June 29, 1915 – February 28, 1972) was an American professional [[baseball]] player.<ref name="Dizzy Trout statistics">{{cite web|url=https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/t/troutdi01.shtml |title=Dizzy Trout statistics |publisher=Baseball-Reference.com |access-date=November 16, 2019}}</ref> He played in [[Major League Baseball]] as a right-handed [[pitcher]] from {{mlby|1939}} to {{mlby|1952}}, 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 two-time [[Major League Baseball All-Star Game|All-Star]] player was the American League [[List of Major League Baseball annual wins leaders|wins leader]] in 1943 and, was the league [[List of Major League Baseball annual ERA leaders|ERA leader]] in 1944. In {{mlby|1957}}, Trout made a brief comeback attempt at the age of 42 with the [[Baltimore Orioles]]. He also played for the [[Boston Red Sox]].

==1939–1942==
Trout was born in [[Sandcut, Indiana]].<ref name="Dizzy Trout statistics"/> 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.<ref name="Dizzy Trout statistics"/> Even in 1940, as the Tigers won the [[American League]] pennant, Trout finished 3–7.

==1943–1947==
Dizzy Trout was classified [[4F (military conscription)|4-F]] due to hearing impairment [https://web.archive.org/web/20070618104142/http://michiganhistorymagazine.com/extra/sports/tigers.html] 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 [[American League]], winning 82 and losing 54.<ref name="Dizzy Trout statistics"/>

Dizzy Trout led the [[American League]] 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 game]]s (33), [[shutouts in baseball|shutout]]s (7), and [[innings pitched]] (352-1/3).  He also finished second in the league to his Detroit teammate, [[Hal Newhouser]], in wins (27) and [[strikeout]]s (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 [[1945 World Series]], 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]]s, tying him for 11th all-time in home runs by pitchers.  He hit a 9th inning [[Grand slam (baseball)|grand slam]] against the [[Washington Senators (1901–60)|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 [[American League]] pennant to the [[New York Yankees|Yankees]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=1950 Detroit Tigers Statistics |url=https://www.baseball-reference.com/teams/DET/1950.shtml |access-date=2025-01-25 |website=Baseball-Reference.com |language=en}}</ref>

On June 3, 1952, Trout was sent to the [[Boston Red Sox]] in a blockbuster trade that sent [[Walt Dropo]], [[Don Lenhardt]], [[Johnny Pesky]], [[Fred Hatfield]], and [[Bill Wight]] to the Tigers for Trout, [[George Kell]], [[Hoot Evers]], and [[Johnny Lipon]]. 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 (baseball)|batting average]] (205-for-961) scoring 99 [[run (baseball)|runs]] with 28 [[double (baseball)|doubles]], 7 [[triple (baseball)|triples]], 20 [[home runs]], 110 [[Run batted in|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 in baseball|1944]].<ref name="Dizzy Trout statistics" />

==Retirement==
After retiring from baseball, Trout called play-by-play for the Tigers on radio [[WDTW (AM)|WKMH]] and TV [[WJBK-TV]] from 1953 to 1955. He also hosted ''[[The Knot-Hole Gang]]'', a sports show aimed at children. Trout broadcast the Tigers games with [[Van Patrick]] and became popular with Detroit fans for his self-effacing humor, scrambled syntax, and folksy demeanor.

[[File:Grave of Paul Howard Trout (1915–1972) at Homewood Memorial Gardens.jpg|thumb|right|200px|Trout's grave at Homewood Memorial Gardens]]

In 1956, Trout ran unsuccessfully for sheriff in [[Wayne County, Michigan|Wayne County]] as a Republican, losing to long-time incumbent [[Andrew C. Baird]].

He attempted a return to baseball with the [[Baltimore Orioles]] 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]] as a pitching instructor and then worked with that organization's front office until his death from stomach cancer at the age of 56 on February 28, 1972, at [[Ingalls Memorial Hospital|Ingalls Hospital]] in Harvey, Illinois.<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/123826976/trout-dies-plan-rites-thursday/ |title=Trout Dies; Plan Rites Thursday |newspaper=[[Chicago Tribune]] |page=33 |date=1972-02-29 |access-date=2023-04-30 |via=Newspapers.com}}</ref> He was buried at [[Homewood Memorial Gardens]] in [[Homewood, Illinois]].

He was inducted into the Indiana Baseball Hall of Fame in 1981.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.indbaseballhalloffame.org/inductees/inductee_detail.cfm?induc_id=27 |title=Indiana Baseball Hall of Fame |publisher=Indbaseballhalloffame.org |access-date=2012-06-04 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100803021800/http://www.indbaseballhalloffame.org/inductees/inductee_detail.cfm?induc_id=27 |archive-date=2010-08-03 }}</ref>

Trout's son, [[Steve Trout|Steve]], pitched for 12 years in the major leagues.

==See also==
*[[Detroit Tigers team records#Best pitching seasons by a Tiger with sortable statistics|Best pitching seasons by a Detroit Tiger]]
* [[1945 Detroit Tigers season]]
* [[1950 Detroit Tigers season]]
* [[List of Major League Baseball annual ERA leaders]]
* [[List of Major League Baseball annual wins leaders]]
* [[List of Major League Baseball all-time leaders in home runs by pitchers]]

==References==
{{reflist}}
*[http://www.detroitkidshow.com/Dizzy_Trout.htm Dizzy Trout – A Major League Talent]

==External links==
{{baseballstats|br=t/troutdi01}}

{{Texas League Player of the Year}}
{{1945 Detroit Tigers}}
{{Detroit Tigers Opening Day starting pitchers}}
{{AL wins champions}}
{{AL ERA champions}}

{{authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Trout, Dizzy}}
[[Category:1915 births]]
[[Category:1972 deaths]]
[[Category:American League All-Stars]]
[[Category:American League ERA champions]]
[[Category:American League wins champions]]
[[Category:Baseball players from Indiana]]
[[Category:Beaumont Exporters players]]
[[Category:Boston Red Sox players]]
[[Category:Baltimore Orioles players]]
[[Category:Deaths from cancer in Illinois]]
[[Category:Deaths from stomach cancer in the United States]]
[[Category:Detroit Tigers announcers]]
[[Category:Detroit Tigers players]]
[[Category:Indianapolis Indians players]]
[[Category:Major League Baseball broadcasters]]
[[Category:Major League Baseball pitchers]]
[[Category:People from Vigo County, Indiana]]
[[Category:Toledo Mud Hens players]]
[[Category:Vancouver Mounties players]]
[[Category:20th-century American sportsmen]]