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Baseball Family Pitches In to Help Youth T ommy Lasorda, one of the giants of the game of baseball, once said: "There are three types of baseball players: Those who make it hap- pen, those who watch it happen and those who wonder what happens." Clearly, Carmel's Trosky family falls firmly into the first category. Hal Trosky, Sr. was born in 1912 in tiny Norway, Iowa, and went on to a stellar career with the Cleveland Indians and Chicago White Sox. Many call his the finest rookie season ever, with 137 runs, 35 home runs and a .333 batting average. In retirement, he was known as a kind and gen- erous man who shared his love for baseball with neighboring kids by building a field on his Iowa farm, teaching all comers the fine points of the game. His grandson Nathan has dedicated his life to the sport, first as a player, now traveling the world as scout, coach and enthusiastic ambassa- dor for the quintessential American pastime. True to his legacy, the younger Trosky is deter- mined to share the joy he finds in baseball with youths who might otherwise not be exposed to it. To that end, he and his family founded the Hal Trosky Memorial Foundation, a nonprofit designed to provide financial assistance that enables talented student athletes to receive training and equipment which furthers their progress in the sport…and in life. "Baseball focuses primarily on character," Trosky says. "There's no professional sport like it; you're with your teammates day and night for eight months of the year. You can't get away with bad character." The foundation will hold its second annual gala event Saturday, March 9 at the Hyatt Regency Monterey. Legendary Stanford baseball coach Dean Stotz will join Trosky and others in honoring the student ath- letes and raising funds for future participants. The evening includes dinner and dancing as well as silent and live auctions. For tickets or to make a donation, visit www.haltroskyfoundation.org or call 831/905-1365. —Michael Chatfield SHORTCUTS GIVING BACK 84 C A R M E L M A G A Z I N E • W I N T E R 2 0 1 5 Early 20th-century baseball great Hal Trosky's family has honored him by forming a foun- dation in his name that gives aspiring youth a leg up. A gala dinner on March 9th is on deck to raise funds for the effort. Photo: Corbis