Former White Sox Cy Young winner LaMarr Hoyt dies at 66
LaMarr Hoyt, who pitched for the White Sox from 1979 to 1984 and won the American League Cy Young Award in 1983, died Monday in Columbia, S.C., after a lengthy illness. He was 66.
"My dad passed away from cancer with me by his side early in the morning of the 29th," said Mathew Hoyt, LaMarr's oldest son. "He genuinely loved being a part of the White Sox organization and I can say without a doubt those were the best years of his life. All he talked about in his final days was baseball, the White Sox and all of his former teammates."
Hoyt was 74-49 with a 3.92 ERA and 39 complete games in 178 games (116 starts) with the Sox, all under Hall of Fame manager Tony La Russa.
"My first impression of LaMarr was, 'Here is a pitcher,'" La Russa said in a statement. "He had average stuff but amazing command and tremendous confidence, and he never showed fear. We brought him up to the big leagues in 1979 and nothing bothered him.
"He had this impressive cool where he believed if he made his pitches, he would get hitters out. He faced teams multiple times in a season but could change up his looks and keep them off balance. What a great competitor."
Over eight major-league seasons with the White Sox and Padres (1985-86), Hoyt was 98-68 with a 3.99 ERA and 48 complete games.
While winning the Cy Young in '83, Hoyt was 24-10 with a 3.66 ERA. The right-hander issued just 31 walks in 260⅔ innings and had 11 complete games over 36 starts.
Hoyt also pitched a complete game in Game 1 of the 1983 ALCS at Baltimore, allowing 5 hits in a 2-1 win over the Orioles.
"LaMarr was a great pitcher and a great teammate," said former Sox starter Richard Dotson. "We would sit around and talk pitching for hours. He really knew how to pitch. His stuff was never great but he had a great sinker and exceptional command.
"LaMarr, Britt Burns, Harold Baines and I all came up to the big leagues around the same time and grew up together, which eventually led to that memorable 1983 season. We are all going to miss him."