Hoyt Deal Still Haunts White Sox

Some would say the beginning of the Chicago White Sox 1985 season actually was on Dec. 6, 1984.

Some would also argue that it ended that same day.

It was the day “the deal” was made.

The “deal” was the trading of former Cy Young Award winner LaMarr Hoyt to the San Diego Padres in exchange for three players--Ozzie Guillen, Luis Salazar and Tim Lollar.

No matter what the Sox did or didn’t do on the field during the regular season, that trade seemed to be a focal point for the entire campaign.

The Sox were always having to defend the deal. The trade could not escape them.

It would be wrong, as the Sox insist, to blame any failures solely on that trade in 1985. But it was clear the season was based heavily on the trade.

“People criticized us for being too complacent, too set after the 1983 season,” said general manager Roland Hemond. “We knew we had to make a deal and that was the one we chose to make.”

Chicago won the 1983 pennant in the American League West by a record 20 games. Heavily favored in 1984, the Sox finished eight games under .500.

This season was to have been the barometer of which was the fluke year. Indications lean heavily that 1983’s title winning year might have been.

Hoyt, the burly 24-game winner of 1983, was shipped off after winning only 13 games in 1984. He became a regular member of the San Diego pitching staff, started and won the 1985 All-Star game for the National League and was the Padres’ second-best pitcher behind Andy Hawkins.

Hoyt’s loss became magnified when Richard Dotson, a 22-game winner in 1983, experienced arm trouble. He underwent surgery at mid-season and was sorely missed by a staff that had looked to the right-hander to pick up the slack for Hoyt.

“When you lose your top pitcher to an injury like that, it’s tough,” said White Sox Manager Tony LaRussa.

Without Dotson, the Sox had to look to 40-year-old Tom Seaver, Britt Burns, who had won just four games the previous season as a starter, Floyd Bannister and Lollar. There was still optimism.

Seaver won the hearts of the nation, if not just New York, when he won his 300th game in August at Yankee Stadium. But like 1984, Seaver was a victim of non-support and could not post the kind of numbers that Hoyt or Dotson had done.

Burns was the biggest surprise. He became an effective starter, regaining the form he had in 1982, and was the team’s biggest winner.

But Lollar--there is that trade again--was a major disappointment. He eventually was shipped off to Boston for outfielder Reid Nichols in mid-season.

Bannister, a 16-game winner in 1983 and a 14-game winer in 1984, went nearly two months without a victory. His yielding of home run balls was his downfall and he became a scapegoat for a pitching staff that once was considered the best in baseball.

Guillen, the 21-year-old Venezuelan, emerged as a leading candidate for rookie of the year.

“People asked me if I would make the trade for Hoyt for Guillen straight up and I said I would,” LaRussa said. “Here is a guy who plays every day and who can be our regular shortstop for 10 years.”

Guillen played like a seasoned veteran. He got clutch hits, fielded well and provided a spark for the team.

The spark could not carry over, however, and the Sox season became one more club known for its individual, rather than team, achievements.

Carlton Fisk, at age 37 coming off a stomach muscle injury, led the league in homers for most of the season. Despite a poor batting average, Fisk had his best power season ever.

Harold Baines, an All-Star again, batted over .300 and had 100 runs-batted in to continue fulfilling the promise of stardom first tagged on him five years ago.

Greg Walker, despite an August slump, became a dependable first baseman who could hit with power and in the clutch, leading the team in game-winning RBI.

And there was Seaver, making the countdown to 300 memorable enough to overshadow the shortcomings on the field for the Sox.

But the Sox were willing to deal Seaver to the Yankees in September and he may not be back next year.

The Sox not only were disappointing they were slow. Their games lasted longer than any other team in baseball, prompting officials to consider starting games a half-hour earlier next year.

They may not have to, however, as Fisk, generally the culprit in the marathon contests, is a free agent and could sign elsewhere.

Chicago has some difficult decisions to make. In addition to deciding whether to re-invest in Fisk, the club must decide whether to stay with Ron Kittle, who had a disappointing season after his 1983 rookie-of-the-year campaign.

Bannister is also a problem because of his $950,000-a-year salary.

Still, this is a club that won 99 games two years ago and which still resides in baseball’s weakest division.

Maybe another trade at the December winter meetings will spark another round of controversy that will lead to something better in 1986.