Here you go!

I didn't ask for this thread, but since it's here, I'll repeat what I said on the 1952 ballot discussion thread. I've got him slotted somewhere between John Titus and Mike Donlin. He's a "might have been" story - without the headaches, he might have been more of a candidate - but his peak doesn't really distinguish himself from a dozen other guys and he doesn't have a career case.

And I won't go down any "might have been" paths. Trosky had migraines. Dizzy Dean hurt his arm. Addie Joss and Ross Youngs died. None of them get to claim what they didn't have.

What OCF said. Trosky could have been a contender if things had went right for him, but the same could be said for many that we didn't even pause to look at when they were eligible.

The same could be said for Dr. Chaleeko if he'd been able to hit, throw, or field in eighth-grade Little League.

My system picks Chick Hafey as the most similar player to Hal Trosky:

I wrote earlier today in "Jack Fournier" that Fournier, Trosky, and Tony Oliva are very close comps considering the 8-year length of their careers as leading batters plus "Fournier has mismanagement and WWI, Trosky has WWII, Oliva has injury."

Regarding Trosky, I had a confused memory of the Bill James list of potential HOF players most affected by WWII, no doubt influenced by his timespan, mainly 1934-1941 as a good batter plus 1944 at league average. He is not one of the 16 players listed and ranked by James and others above point to migraine headaches as the decisive factor for Trosky.

I used to work with a guy whose dad was Hal Trosky's best old hometown buddy from Iowa. Yes, it definitely was headaches for Trosky.

My system picks Chick Hafey as the most similar player to Hal Trosky

That is some illusion of career totals, I suppose.

Trosky was in his prime for virtually his entire career, where Hafey debuting at the same age did not begin regular play or accomplished batting for three years. Measured by OPS+ Hafey was much Trosky's superior but he played only 103-138 games in his five peak seasons, the St Louis seasons that made him famous.

< b>Chick Hafey</b> has no thread so let me note here.

He was a regular in the 1926 World Series, just before his five-year run, giving him four Series in six seasons. What a ghastly Series career: 23 games at .205/.222/.284 --OPS .500 from a 1.000 guy. (991 990 1026 1059 973 = est. avg. 1.008)
Is there any great player who achieved less in so much play?

< b>Chick Hafey</b> has no thread so let me note here.

If I had been doing them then, I would have made one up for him, since he's a HOFer.