LaMarr Hoyt
Encyclopedia
Dewey LaMarr Hoyt is a former Major League Baseball
right-handed pitcher
who won the American League
Cy Young Award
.
in the fifth round of the amateur draft, Hoyt was traded with fellow pitching prospect Bob Polinsky, outfielder
Oscar Gamble
, and $200,000 to the Chicago White Sox
in a season-opening deal that sent the Yankees shortstop
Bucky Dent
. A relief pitcher
when he made the White Sox to stay in 1980
, Hoyt was switched to the starting rotation
in and tied a club record by winning his first nine decisions. The record was first set by Lefty Williams
in and equaled by Orval Grove
in . Hoyt ended up leading the American League with 19 wins and showed devastating control on the mound; he walked
a mere 48 batters in 239.2 innings.
Hoyt was even better in , winning the American League
Cy Young Award
. His 24-10 won-lost record, 3.66 earned run average
, and even better control than the previous season (walking 31 batters in 260.2 innings, and leading the league in fewest walks per nine innings for the first of three straight seasons) helped the White Sox
capture the American League West
title.
He pitched a complete game
victory over the Baltimore Orioles
in the first game of the 1983 American League Championship Series
, giving up only one run on five hits with no walks. This was the only game the ChiSox won in the series.
The White Sox faltered in 1984
, as Hoyt's record fell to 13-18 with a 4.47 ERA. Ironically, he went from winning the most games in the American League in 1983 to losing the most games the following year. Hoping for a rebound from the former Cy Young award winner, the San Diego Padres
dealt Ozzie Guillen
, Tim Lollar
, Bill Long and Luis Salazar
to the White Sox for Hoyt, Kevin Kristan and Todd Simmons during the 1984- off-season.
career promisingly enough, making the NL's All-Star
team his first season in the league, and winning the game's Most Valuable Player award, giving up one run in three innings of work to earn the win. For the season, he went 16-8 with a 3.47 ERA, but he was more reliant on his fielders than on his own work; his strikeout-to-innings pitched ratio lowered significantly.
Following the 1985
season, Hoyt was arrested twice within a month (between January and February ) on drug possession charges, checking into a rehabilitation program nine days after the second arrest. This prevented him from playing most of spring training
, and he logged an 8-11 won-loss record with a 5.15 ERA.
border for drug possession. He was sentenced to 45 days in jail on December 16, 1986, and barred from baseball by then-Commissioner Peter Ueberroth
, on February 25, . An arbitrator cut Hoyt's suspension to sixty days in mid-June and ordered the Padres to reinstate him, but the Padres gave him his unconditional release the following day.
The White Sox gave him a second chance, signing him after his San Diego release and given time to get back into shape, but a fourth arrest on drug charges in December 1987 ended that.
His eight-year major league career ended at age 31 with a 98-68 won-lost record, a lifetime 3.99 ERA in 244 games, 172 starts, 42 complete games and 8 shutout
s, surrendering 582 earned run
s and striking out
681 in 1311.1 innings pitched
.
Hoyt today is drug-free and has been working for the White Sox as a roving organization instructor since .
Major League Baseball
Major League Baseball is the highest level of professional baseball in the United States and Canada, consisting of teams that play in the National League and the American League...
right-handed pitcher
Pitcher
In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throwsthe baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of retiring a batter, who attempts to either make contact with the pitched ball or draw a walk. In the numbering system used to record defensive plays, the...
who won the American League
American League
The American League of Professional Baseball Clubs, or simply the American League , is one of two leagues that make up Major League Baseball in the United States and Canada. It developed from the Western League, a minor league based in the Great Lakes states, which eventually aspired to major...
Cy Young Award
Cy Young Award
The Cy Young Award is an honor given annually in baseball to the best pitchers in Major League Baseball , one each for the American League and National League . The award was first introduced in 1956 by Baseball Commissioner Ford Frick in honor of Hall of Fame pitcher Cy Young, who died in 1955...
.
Chicago White Sox
Originally signed by the New York YankeesNew York Yankees
The New York Yankees are a professional baseball team based in the The Bronx, New York. They compete in Major League Baseball in the American League's East Division...
in the fifth round of the amateur draft, Hoyt was traded with fellow pitching prospect Bob Polinsky, outfielder
Outfielder
Outfielder is a generic term applied to each of the people playing in the three defensive positions in baseball farthest from the batter. These defenders are the left fielder, the center fielder, and the right fielder...
Oscar Gamble
Oscar Gamble
Oscar Charles Gamble is a former outfielder and designated hitter in Major League Baseball. He played for 17 seasons, from 1969 to 1985, on seven different teams: the Chicago White Sox and New York Yankees on two separate occasions, as well as the Chicago Cubs, Philadelphia Phillies, Cleveland...
, and $200,000 to the Chicago White Sox
Chicago White Sox
The Chicago White Sox are a Major League Baseball team located in Chicago, Illinois.The White Sox play in the American League's Central Division. Since , the White Sox have played in U.S. Cellular Field, which was originally called New Comiskey Park and nicknamed The Cell by local fans...
in a season-opening deal that sent the Yankees shortstop
Shortstop
Shortstop, abbreviated SS, is the baseball fielding position between second and third base. Shortstop is often regarded as the most dynamic defensive position in baseball, because there are more right-handed hitters in baseball than left-handed hitters, and most hitters have a tendency to pull the...
Bucky Dent
Bucky Dent
Russell Earl "Bucky" Dent , is a former American Major League Baseball player and manager. He earned two World Series rings as the starting shortstop for the New York Yankees in and , and was voted the World Series MVP in 1978...
. A relief pitcher
Relief pitcher
A relief pitcher or reliever is a baseball or softball pitcher who enters the game after the starting pitcher is removed due to injury, ineffectiveness, fatigue, ejection, or for other strategic reasons, such as being substituted by a pinch hitter...
when he made the White Sox to stay in 1980
1980 Chicago White Sox season
The 1980 Chicago White Sox season was the team's 80th season in Major League Baseball, and its 81st season overall. They finished with a record of 70-90, good enough for 5th place in the American League West, 26 games behind the first-place Kansas City Royals....
, Hoyt was switched to the starting rotation
Starting pitcher
In baseball or softball, a starting pitcher is the pitcher who delivers the first pitch to the first batter of a game. A pitcher who enters the game after the first pitch of the game is a relief pitcher....
in and tied a club record by winning his first nine decisions. The record was first set by Lefty Williams
Lefty Williams
Claude Preston "Lefty" Williams was an American pitcher in Major League Baseball. He is probably best known for his involvement in the 1919 World Series fix, known as the Black Sox scandal.-Career:...
in and equaled by Orval Grove
Orval Grove
Orval Leroy Grove was an American pitcher in Major League Baseball who played for ten seasons in the American League with the Chicago White Sox...
in . Hoyt ended up leading the American League with 19 wins and showed devastating control on the mound; he walked
Base on balls
A base on balls is credited to a batter and against a pitcher in baseball statistics when a batter receives four pitches that the umpire calls balls. It is better known as a walk. The base on balls is defined in Section 2.00 of baseball's Official Rules, and further detail is given in 6.08...
a mere 48 batters in 239.2 innings.
Hoyt was even better in , winning the American League
American League
The American League of Professional Baseball Clubs, or simply the American League , is one of two leagues that make up Major League Baseball in the United States and Canada. It developed from the Western League, a minor league based in the Great Lakes states, which eventually aspired to major...
Cy Young Award
Cy Young Award
The Cy Young Award is an honor given annually in baseball to the best pitchers in Major League Baseball , one each for the American League and National League . The award was first introduced in 1956 by Baseball Commissioner Ford Frick in honor of Hall of Fame pitcher Cy Young, who died in 1955...
. His 24-10 won-lost record, 3.66 earned run average
Earned run average
In baseball statistics, earned run average is the mean of earned runs given up by a pitcher per nine innings pitched. It is determined by dividing the number of earned runs allowed by the number of innings pitched and multiplying by nine...
, and even better control than the previous season (walking 31 batters in 260.2 innings, and leading the league in fewest walks per nine innings for the first of three straight seasons) helped the White Sox
1983 Chicago White Sox season
The Chicago White Sox season was a season in American baseball. It involved the White Sox winning the American League West championship. It marked their first postseason appearance since the 1959 World Series.-Offseason:...
capture the American League West
American League West
The American League West is one of three divisions in Major League Baseball's American League. The division currently has four teams, but it has had as many as seven teams before the 1994 realignment. Although its teams currently only reside along the west coast and in Texas, historically the...
title.
He pitched a complete game
Complete game
In baseball, a complete game is the act of a pitcher pitching an entire game without the benefit of a relief pitcher.As demonstrated by the charts below, in the early 20th century, it was common for most good Major League Baseball pitchers to pitch a complete game almost every start. Pitchers were...
victory over the Baltimore Orioles
1983 Baltimore Orioles season
The Baltimore Orioles season was a season in American baseball. It involved the Orioles finishing 1st in the American League East with a record of 98 wins and 64 losses...
in the first game of the 1983 American League Championship Series
1983 American League Championship Series
-Game 1:Wednesday, October 5, 1983 at Memorial Stadium in Baltimore, MarylandPlaying in their first postseason game since the 1959 World Series, the White Sox jumped out to a 1–0 series lead behind a complete-game victory by Hoyt, the American League Cy Young Award winner...
, giving up only one run on five hits with no walks. This was the only game the ChiSox won in the series.
The White Sox faltered in 1984
1984 Chicago White Sox season
The 1984 Chicago White Sox season was the White Sox's 84th season in the major leagues, and their 85th season overall. They finished with a record 74-88, good enough for 5th place in the American League West, 10 games behind the 1st place Kansas City Royals....
, as Hoyt's record fell to 13-18 with a 4.47 ERA. Ironically, he went from winning the most games in the American League in 1983 to losing the most games the following year. Hoping for a rebound from the former Cy Young award winner, the San Diego Padres
1984 San Diego Padres season
-Offseason:* October 21, 1983: Sandy Alomar, Jr. was signed by the Padres as an amateur free agent.* December 6, 1983: Joe Pittman and a player to be named later were traded by the Padres to the San Francisco Giants for Champ Summers...
dealt Ozzie Guillen
Ozzie Guillén
Oswaldo José "Ozzie" Guillén Barrios is a Venezuelan-American former Major League Baseball player and current manager of the Miami Marlins. He managed the Chicago White Sox from 2004 to 2011 before asking for his release at the end of the 2011 season....
, Tim Lollar
Tim Lollar
William Timothy Lollar is a former professional baseball pitcher. He played all or part of seven seasons in Major League Baseball from 1980-86 for the New York Yankees , San Diego Padres , Chicago White Sox and Boston Red Sox , primarily as a starting pitcher.- Early career :Lollar played...
, Bill Long and Luis Salazar
Luis Salazar
Luis Ernesto Salazar Garcia is a former third baseman and outfielder in Major League Baseball, a right-handed batter who played from 1980 to 1992....
to the White Sox for Hoyt, Kevin Kristan and Todd Simmons during the 1984- off-season.
San Diego Padres
Hoyt began his National LeagueNational League
The National League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the National League , is the older of two leagues constituting Major League Baseball, and the world's oldest extant professional team sports league. Founded on February 2, 1876, to replace the National Association of Professional...
career promisingly enough, making the NL's All-Star
1985 Major League Baseball All-Star Game
The 1985 Major League Baseball All-Star Game was the 56th playing of the game, annually played between the All-Stars of the National League and the All-Stars of the American League. The game was played on July 16, 1985, in the Hubert H...
team his first season in the league, and winning the game's Most Valuable Player award, giving up one run in three innings of work to earn the win. For the season, he went 16-8 with a 3.47 ERA, but he was more reliant on his fielders than on his own work; his strikeout-to-innings pitched ratio lowered significantly.
Following the 1985
1985 San Diego Padres season
The San Diego Padres season was the 17th season in franchise history. Led by manager Dick Williams, the Padres were unable to defend their National League championship.-Offseason:...
season, Hoyt was arrested twice within a month (between January and February ) on drug possession charges, checking into a rehabilitation program nine days after the second arrest. This prevented him from playing most of spring training
Spring training
In Major League Baseball, spring training is a series of practices and exhibition games preceding the start of the regular season. Spring training allows new players to try out for roster and position spots, and gives existing team players practice time prior to competitive play...
, and he logged an 8-11 won-loss record with a 5.15 ERA.
More off the field problems
Barely a month after the season ended Hoyt was arrested again, this time on the U.S.-MexicoMexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
border for drug possession. He was sentenced to 45 days in jail on December 16, 1986, and barred from baseball by then-Commissioner Peter Ueberroth
Peter Ueberroth
Peter Victor Ueberroth is an American executive. He served as the sixth Commissioner of Major League Baseball from 1984 to 1989. He was recently the chairman of the United States Olympic Committee; he was replaced by Larry Probst in October 2008....
, on February 25, . An arbitrator cut Hoyt's suspension to sixty days in mid-June and ordered the Padres to reinstate him, but the Padres gave him his unconditional release the following day.
The White Sox gave him a second chance, signing him after his San Diego release and given time to get back into shape, but a fourth arrest on drug charges in December 1987 ended that.
His eight-year major league career ended at age 31 with a 98-68 won-lost record, a lifetime 3.99 ERA in 244 games, 172 starts, 42 complete games and 8 shutout
Shutout
In team sports, a shutout refers to a game in which one team prevents the opposing team from scoring. While possible in most major sports, they are highly improbable in some sports, such as basketball....
s, surrendering 582 earned run
Earned run
In baseball, an earned run is any run for which the pitcher is held accountable . Any runner who tags his base and reaches home plate is scored against the pitcher as an earned run...
s and striking out
Strikeout
In baseball or softball, a strikeout or strike-out occurs when a batter receives three strikes during his time at bat. A strikeout is a statistic recorded for both pitchers and batters....
681 in 1311.1 innings pitched
Innings pitched
In baseball, innings pitched are the number of innings a pitcher has completed, measured by the number of batters and baserunners that are put out while the pitcher on the pitching mound in a game. Three outs made is equal to one inning pitched. One out counts as one-third of an inning, and two...
.
Hoyt today is drug-free and has been working for the White Sox as a roving organization instructor since .