[1] He played three years in the minor leagues before joining the White Sox and pitching in his first MLB game on July 1, 1978, against the Minnesota Twins.

[1] Before the 1983 season, Trout was traded to the Chicago Cubs along with Warren Brusstar for Scott Fletcher, Pat Tabler, Randy Martz, and Dick Tidrow.

[4] Trout started strong in 1985 with a 6–1 record through June 8, until ulnar nerve problems caused him to miss time on the disabled list, as he was only able to make nine starts for the remainder of the season[5] Trout was traded in 1987 to the New York Yankees, for Bob Tewksbury, Rich Scheid, and Dean Wilkins.

Though his last two starts with the Cubs were complete game shutouts, and his ERA was one of the best in the National League, with the Yankees he proved unable to locate the strike zone.

Trout was traded to the Mariners before the 1988 season with Henry Cotto in exchange for Lee Guetterman, Clay Parker, and Wade Taylor.

[8] Trout recently co-wrote a children's illustration book called Loosey-Goosey Baseball that is available for purchase on his website.