Chicago White Sox

Originally signed by the New York Yankees in the fifth round of the 1973 amateur draft, Hoyt was traded with fellow pitching prospect Bob Polinsky, outfielder Oscar Gamble, and $200,000 to the Chicago White Sox in a 1977 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 1982 and tied a club record by winning his first nine decisions. The record was first set by future "Black Sox" pitcher Lefty Williams in 1917 and equaled by Orval Grove in 1943. 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 1983, 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 1984-1985 off-season.

San Diego Padres

Hoyt began his National League 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 1986) 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.

More off the field problems

Barely a month after the season ended Hoyt was arrested again, this time on the U.S.-Mexico 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, 1987. 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.^[1]

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 shutouts, surrendering 582 earned runs and striking out 681 in 1311.1 innings pitched.^[2]

Hoyt today is drug-free and has been working for the White Sox as a roving organization instructor since 2004.

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