Chicago’s Forgotten Britt Burns Has Quietly Made Big Comeback

Quietly, almost without notice, there is a pitcher on the Chicago White Sox who has re-established himself as one of the premier pitchers in the American League.

Nope, it isn’t Tom Seaver, the 300-game winner who drew all the headlines on the Sox pitching staff.

Richard Dotson? Guess again. The former 22-game winner may be coming back from an injury next year and may again be one of the best pitchers in the league, but it isn’t Dotson.

Unless you are a student of weekly pitching statistics, you probably didn’t realize that Britt Burns has become one of the winningest pitchers in the American League again this year.

His accomplishments may have gone virtually unnoticed by the rest of the league, but not by his manager, Tony LaRussa.

“To me, Britt has pitched as well as anyone all year,” says LaRussa. “Look at the other guys and see how many wins they have and then look at Britt.”

By Sept. 25, Burns was 18-10. He went to 18-8 with a victory over California on Sept. 17 but dropped his next two starts against Oakland and California.

Burns didn’t seem to be a candidate for a 20-victory season after winning just four games and losing 12 last year. But he stressed off-season conditioning and found his way back into a pitching staff that once was considered the envy of every team in baseball.

“I worked hard in the off-season, weights, things like that, and it has paid off,” Burns says. “I’m sorry we aren’t going to win it all this year. In that case, it has been disappointing. But I’ve showed I could still pitch.”

Burns had been nearly lost in the Chicago bullpen in 1984. He had been saddled with an assortment of injuries and had been squeezed out by a strong starting rotation.

“I went to the bullpen because that’s what they wanted me to do,” Burns recalls. “I wanted to do whatever I could to help this club.”

Four years ago, Burns was considered the most promising left-hander in baseball. He had come into the league the previous season with a blazing fastball and the kind of stuff that people were saying “can’t miss.” People were comparing him to Ron Guidry of the Yankees before too long and his promise seemed to be limitless.

He earned a bid to pitch in the All-Star game and was the cornerstone of an improving pitching staff that included the likes of Dotson, LaMarr Hoyt and Floyd Bannister.

But a funny thing happened to Burns on the way to Cooperstown. While Hoyt was winning the Cy Young award and Dotson was posting a 20-victory season, Burns was battling injuries. Back injuries. Shoulder injuries. An assortment of maladies that kept him out of the limelight.

“Britt had a lot of adversity. But the kind of man he is, he never gave up, never gave up working to try to better himself,” LaRussa explains. “That’s why his success this year is so gratifying.”

Burns started the 1984 campaign in the bullpen, motoring back and forth out of the rotation in a season that saw him drift into the back of the Sox staff and people’s minds.

When Hoyt was traded in a controversial deal to San Diego for shortstop Ozzie Guillen--and Dotson got hurt--Burns got his chance this year. He wasn’t spectacular--he didn’t reel off any 15 wins in a row--and he was pitching on a club that drew attention more for its disappointments than its wins.

But all the while, Burns kept going out every fifth day. And winning. Winning consistently.

Burns knows he won’t win the Cy Young award this year. That will be between Guidry and Kansas City’s Brett Saberhagen. They played on contenders all year long.

There should be room in Burns’ trophy case, however, for a comeback player of the year award based on his accomplishments this year. Ironically, he might share that honor with a pitcher who also could have pitched in Chicago this year, Rick Reuschel. The former Cub now Pittsburgh Pirate has had another strong comeback campaign although his numbers are not in Burns’ league this season.

“To me there’s no question that he’s the comeback player of the year in this league,” LaRussa says. “I think his only competition would be (Carlton) Pudge Fisk on our ballclub. But Britt is back and that’s good news for the White Sox.”