Today in White Sox History: January 1
A future Cy Young winner just happens to be a New Year’s baby
1911
Future general manager of the White Sox, Hank Greenberg, was born in New York City.
Greenberg came over to the White Sox from Cleveland, duplicating his relationship with Bill Veeck after Veeck bought the White Sox. The Hall of Fame slugger stayed on past Veeck’s stewardship but eventually resigned from the day-to-day grind. He also pursued ownership of the expansion team the American League placed in Los Angeles in 1961.
1955
White Sox Cy Young winner LaMarr Hoyt was born in Columbia, S.C.
Hoyt was drafted by the Yankees in the fifth round in 1973 and came to the White Sox in one of the great what-if trades in franchise history: Bucky Dent was being sent to New York for Oscar Gamble and some minor league arms. The White Sox wanted Ron Guidry as one of them, and only a last-minute veto from manager Billy Martin prevented the deal. Hoyt either was already in the deal or got inserted at that point. And the White Sox did pretty will with him!
LaMarr worked his way to the majors quickly once he joined the White Sox, as a swingman in 1980 who bulled his way into the starting rotation by 1982. In his first year (1982) as a starter, he led the American League with 19 wins. What did he do for an encore? He won the AL Cy Young in 1983. But 1984 was a fall-off (in production, not workload) and Hoyt was shipped to San Diego that offseason in the (at the time, VERY unpopular) Ozzie Guillén trade.
Hoyt battled drug addiction for most of his adult life, passing away in 2021 at age 66. He had, however, come to terms with and enjoyed the huge mark he made in the majors and on the White Sox franchise.
2012
Relief pitcher Jason Frasor was traded back to Toronto for minor league pitchers Daniel Webb and Myles Jaye. Frasor, who would become the all-time games-pitched leader for the Blue Jays with 455, had been shipped to Chicago at the 2011 trading deadline and provided a 5.09 ERA over 20 games. Webb would see action in four seasons with the White Sox between 2013 and 2016, pitching in 94 games with a 4.50 ERA, 86 ERA+ and -0.2 WAR.