Hoyt Returns to White Sox --but Not for This Season

LaMarr Hoyt, whose San Diego Padres’ career ended after two years because of a series of drug problems, agreed to terms with the Chicago White Sox Wednesday.

White Sox General Manager Larry Himes said Hoyt, 32, would report to Chicago’s Class A farm team in Daytona Beach, Fla.

Though terms of Hoyt’s deal with the White Sox will not be completed until meetings this weekend, the Padres remain responsible for most of the $2.8 million he is due between now and the end of the 1989 season. The White Sox, for example, could sign him to a Class A contract this year, and the Padres would have to pay the difference for the remainder of the season.

Hoyt is returning to the organization with which he enjoyed his greatest success. He won the AL Cy Young Award while with the White Sox in 1983.

In that sense, it is a second chance in more ways than one.

“Hoyt’s path to regain control of his life and career will not be easy, and the end result will be the sole responsibility of LaMarr Hoyt,” Himes said. “He will report to Daytona, and there is no intention of bringing him back this season.”

Hoyt was able to sign with the White Sox because he became a free agent Friday after being released by the Padres for the second time this year.

Hoyt was first released Jan. 7, two days after he began serving a 38-day jail term for two misdemeanor drug convictions. The Padres terminated his contract without pay. Later, Commissioner Peter Ueberroth suspended him for the 1987 season.

However, responding to grievances filed by the players’ union, arbitrator George Nicolau ruled that the termination was without cause and rescinded the Padres’ release. He further reduced the suspension imposed by Ueberroth to 60 days from the start of the season.

Nicolau rapped the Padres for being insensitive to Hoyt’s personal and medical problems. His report cited a psychiatrist’s evaluation, which described Hoyt’s stress and anxiety and said he was a “medication misuser” rather than a “substance abuser.”

The Padre organization has steadfastly refused to comment since the arbitrator made his ruling June 16. Hoyt was promptly put on waivers and released once again, this time with pay.

The club’s policy has been that players get a second chance after a first involvement with drugs, but not a third chance. Hoyt was involved in two incidents in February 1986 and spent 28 days in a rehabilitation center.

Padre players, preparing for Wednesday night’s game at Dodger Stadium, touched on the impact of Nicolau’s ruling, issued June 16 but only reported in the past seven days.

“It could be a real tragedy to give up on a player because he had a problem like that,” infielder Tim Flannery said. “That’s the whole thing about drug testing, and why the union has fought against it. You see things handled like this, and people say, ‘I’m not going to ever give them a chance (to test me).’ Everybody wants to know why we’re against drug testing, and we’re against it because of things like this happening. . . . It could be a tragedy because LaMarr is such a good guy.”

Outfielder Tony Gwynn was concerned about the thinly veiled, and apparently unfounded, link with cocaine, which added to Hoyt’s problems.

“It’s kind of scary (that somebody can be labeled a cocaine-user that easily),” Gwynn said. “I think if he’d have gone a different route in getting what he had to get, I don’t think there would have been a problem. I don’t think anybody would have thought anything about it.”

Hoyt reportedly has not pitched since last October, and that’s one of the reasons Himes and the White Sox are not expecting him to pitch at the major league level this season.