Dewey LaMarr Hoyt Jr. (January 1, 1955 – November 29, 2021) was an American

professional baseball Professional baseball is organized baseball in which players are selected for their talents and are paid to play for a specific team or club system. It is played in baseball league, leagues and associated farm teams throughout the world. Mod ...

right-handed

pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("pitches") the baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of retiring a batter, who attempts to either make contact with the pitched ball or draw ...

. He played in

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...

for the

Chicago White Sox The Chicago White Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The White Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. The team is owned by Jerry Reinsdorf, and p ...

and

San Diego Padres The San Diego Padres are an American professional baseball team based in San Diego. The Padres compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. Founded in 1969, the club has won two NL penna ...

from 1979 to 1986. He won the 1983

American League The American League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the American League (AL), is one of two leagues that make up Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada. It developed from the Western League, a minor league ...

Cy Young Award The Cy Young Award is given annually to the best pitchers in Major League Baseball (MLB), one each for the American League (AL) and National League (NL). The award was first introduced in 1956 by Baseball Commissioner Ford Frick in honor of Hall ...

and was an All-Star in 1985.

Early career

Hoyt graduated from Keenan High School in

Columbia, South Carolina Columbia is the capital of the U.S. state of South Carolina. With a population of 136,632 at the 2020 census, it is the second-largest city in South Carolina. The city serves as the county seat of Richland County, and a portion of the city ...

. The

New York Yankees The New York Yankees are an American professional baseball team based in the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of the Bronx. The Yankees compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Amer ...

selected Hoyt in the fifth round of the 1973 Major League Baseball draft. In 1977, the Yankees traded Hoyt with fellow pitching prospect Bob Polinsky,

outfielder An outfielder is a person playing in one of the three defensive positions in baseball or softball, farthest from the batter. These defenders are the left fielder, the center fielder, and the right fielder. As an outfielder, their duty is to cat ...

Oscar Gamble Oscar Charles Gamble (December 20, 1949 – January 31, 2018) was an American professional baseball outfielder and designated hitter, who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for 17 seasons, from to , for seven teams: the Chicago White Sox and ...

, and $200,000 to the

for

shortstop Shortstop, abbreviated SS, is the baseball or softball fielding position between second and third base, which is considered to be among the most demanding defensive positions. Historically the position was assigned to defensive specialists who ...

Bucky Dent Russell Earl "Bucky" Dent (born Russell Earl O'Dey; November 25, 1951) is an American former Major League Baseball (MLB) player and manager. He earned two World Series rings as the starting shortstop for the New York Yankees in 1977 and 1978 and ...

Chicago White Sox

Hoyt was promoted to the major leagues for the first time in September 1979. A

relief pitcher In baseball and softball, a relief pitcher or reliever is a pitcher who enters the game after the starting pitcher is removed because of fatigue (medical), fatigue, ineffectiveness, injury, or ejection (sports), ejection, or for other strategic ...

when he made the White Sox to stay in 1980, Hoyt was switched to the

starting rotation R rabbit ears :Indicates a participant in the game who hears things perhaps too well for their own good. A player who becomes nervous or chokes when opposing players or fans yell at or razz them is said to have rabbit ears. Also, an umpire ...

in 1982 and tied a club record by winning his first nine decisions. The record was first set by

Lefty Williams Claude Preston "Lefty" Williams (March 9, 1893 – November 4, 1959) was an American pitcher in Major League Baseball. He is probably best known for his involvement in the 1919 World Series fix, known as the Black Sox Scandal. Career Willia ...

in 1917 and equaled by

Orval Grove Orval Leroy Grove (August 29, 1919 – April 20, 1992) was an American pitcher in Major League Baseball who played for ten seasons in the American League with the Chicago White Sox. In 207 career games, Grove pitched 1,176 innings and posted ...

in 1943. Hoyt ended up leading the

with 19 wins. In 1983, Hoyt won the

. He had a 24–10 won-lost record, 3.66

earned run average In baseball statistics, earned run average (ERA) is the average of earned runs allowed by a pitcher per nine innings pitched (i.e. the traditional length of a game). It is determined by dividing the number of earned runs allowed by the number ...

and 11

complete game In baseball, a complete game (CG) is the act of a pitcher pitching an entire game without the benefit of a relief pitcher. A pitcher who meets this criterion will be credited with a complete game regardless of the number of innings played—pitche ...

s while allowing only 31 walks in innings. Hoyt finished the season with a 15–2 record and 3.16 ERA in his final 18 starts of the season. He pitched a complete game victory over the

Baltimore Orioles The Baltimore Orioles are an American professional baseball team based in Baltimore. The Orioles compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League East, East division. As one of the American L ...

in the first game of the

1983 American League Championship Series The 1983 American League Championship Series was played between the Chicago White Sox and the Baltimore Orioles from October 5 to 8. The Orioles won the series three games to one. Although the White Sox took Game 1 by a score of 2–1, the Oriol ...

, giving up only one run on five

hits Hits or H.I.T.S. may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Music * ''H.I.T.S.'', 1991 album by New Kids on the Block * ''...Hits'' (Phil Collins album), 1998 * ''Hits'' (compilation series), 1984–2006; 2014 - a British compilation album se ...

with no walks. The White Sox faltered in

1984 Events January * January 1 – The Bornean Sultanate of Brunei gains full independence from the United Kingdom, having become a British protectorate in 1888. * January 7 – Brunei becomes the sixth member of the Association of Southeast A ...

, as Hoyt's record fell to 13–18 with a 4.47 ERA. He went from winning the most games in the American League in 1983 to losing the most games the following year.

San Diego Padres

After the 1984 season, the

traded

Ozzie Guillén Oswaldo José Guillén Barrios (; born January 20, 1964) is a former professional baseball player and manager. He played in Major League Baseball as a shortstop for 16 seasons, primarily with the Chicago White Sox, from 1985 to 2000. During tha ...

Tim Lollar William Timothy Lollar (born March 17, 1956) is a former professional baseball pitcher. He was born in Missouri to Homer and Betty Jean (nee McHenry) Lollar. Tim was a graduate of Farmington High School in Farmington, Missouri, and Mineral Area Co ...

, Bill Long, and

Luis Salazar Luis Ernesto Salazar Garcia (born May 19, 1956) is a Venezuelan former professional baseball player, coach and manager. He played in Major League Baseball from 1980 to 1992 as a third baseman and outfielder for the San Diego Padres (1980–84, 19 ...

to the White Sox for Hoyt, Kevin Kristan, and Todd Simmons. He was targeted by Padres general manager

Jack McKeon Jack Aloysius McKeon (; born November 23, 1930), nicknamed "Trader Jack," is an American former Major League Baseball manager and front-office executive. In , at age 72, he won a World Series as manager of the Florida Marlins. Two full seasons ...

to bolster their starting rotation, which struggled in the

1984 World Series The 1984 World Series was the championship series of Major League Baseball's (MLB) 1984 season. The 81st edition of the World Series, it was a best-of-seven playoff played between the American League (AL) champion Detroit Tigers and the Nationa ...

. Hoyt made the

National League The National League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the National League (NL), is the older of two leagues constituting Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada, and the world's oldest extant professional team s ...

's All-Star team his first season in the league, and was named the

starting pitcher In baseball (hardball or softball), a starting pitcher or starter is the first pitcher in the game for each team. A pitcher is credited with a game started if they throw the first pitch to the opponent's first batter of a game. Starting pit ...

for the game. He gave up one run in three innings of work to earn the win and the

Major League Baseball All-Star Game Most Valuable Player Award The Major League Baseball All-Star Game Most Valuable Player (MVP) Award is an annual Major League Baseball (MLB) award which is presented to the most outstanding player in each year's MLB All-Star Game. Awarded each season since 1962 (two games w ...

. For the season, he went 16–8 with a 3.47 ERA. Baseball writer

Bill James George William James (born October 5, 1949) is an American baseball writer, historian, and statistician whose work has been widely influential. Since 1977, James has written more than two dozen books devoted to baseball history and statistics. ...

said Hoyt had the best control of any National League pitcher at this time. Following the 1985 season, he 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 Spring training is the preseason in Major League Baseball (MLB), a series of practices and exhibition games preceding the start of the regular season. Spring training allows new players to try out for Schedule (workplace), roster and position spo ...

. He pitched through an injury to his

rotator cuff The rotator cuff is a group of muscles and their tendons that act to stabilize the human shoulder and allow for its extensive range of motion. Of the seven scapulohumeral muscles, four make up the rotator cuff. The four muscles are the supraspi ...

rather than risk a surgery that could end his career, and he logged an 8–11 won-loss record with a 5.15 ERA. Barely a month after the season ended, Hoyt was arrested again for drug possession when he tried to bring 500 pills through the

San Ysidro Port of Entry __NOTOC__ The San Ysidro Port of Entry (aka San Ysidro Land Port of Entry or San Ysidro LPOE) is the largest land border crossing between San Diego and Tijuana, and the fourth- busiest land border crossing in the world (second-busiest if one exclu ...

on the U.S.–Mexico border. He was sentenced to 45 days in jail on December 16, 1986, and suspended by then-Commissioner

Peter Ueberroth Peter Victor Ueberroth (; born September 2, 1937) is an American sports and business executive known for his involvement in the Olympics and in Major League Baseball. A Los Angeles-based businessman, he was the chairman of the Los Angeles Olymp ...

on February 25, 1987. An arbitrator reduced his suspension to sixty days in mid-June and ordered the Padres to reinstate him. Though the Padres still owed Hoyt $3 million under the terms of his contract, the team gave him his unconditional release the following day.

Later career

The White Sox gave him a second chance, signing him after his San Diego release and giving him time to get back into shape. A fourth arrest on drug charges in December 1987 ended his return. He was sentenced to one year in federal prison in January 1988. He began to serve his sentence at

Federal Correctional Complex, Allenwood The Federal Correctional Complex, Allenwood (FCC Allenwood) is a United States federal prison complex for male inmates in Pennsylvania. It is operated by the Federal Bureau of Prisons, a division of the United States Department of Justice. The pri ...

, and was transferred in July to a

halfway house A halfway house is an institute for people with criminal backgrounds or substance use disorder problems to learn (or relearn) the necessary skills to re-integrate into society and better support and care for themselves. As well as serving as a ...

in Columbia, South Carolina.

Career stats

A poor hitter, even by pitchers' standards, Hoyt had just ten

in 110 career

at-bat In baseball, an at bat (AB) or time at bat is a batter's turn batting against a pitcher. An at bat is different from a plate appearance. A batter is credited with a plate appearance regardless of what happens during their turn at bat, but a bat ...

s. The only

extra-base hit In baseball, an extra-base hit (EB, EBH or XBH), also known as a long hit, is any base hit on which the batter is able to advance past first base without the benefit of a fielder either committing an error or opting to make a throw to retire anot ...

of his career was an RBI

double A double is a look-alike or doppelgänger; one person or being that resembles another. Double, The Double or Dubble may also refer to: Film and television * Double (filmmaking), someone who substitutes for the credited actor of a character * Th ...

on July 13, 1986, against Tim Conroy of the

St. Louis Cardinals The St. Louis Cardinals are an American professional baseball team based in St. Louis. The Cardinals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) Central division. Since the 2006 season, the Cardinals hav ...

Personal life

Hoyt's parents divorced when he was six months old, and he was raised by an aunt. Hoyt and his wife, Sylvia, married in 1980. They divorced after the 1985 season. Hoyt and his second wife, Leslie, had two sons and a daughter. Hoyt died of cancer on November 29, 2021, at the age of 66.

References

External links

Pelota Binaria (Venezuelan Winter League)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hoyt, Lamarr 1955 births 2021 deaths American League wins champions American people convicted of drug offenses American sportspeople convicted of crimes Appleton Foxes players Baseball players from Columbia, South Carolina Baseball players suspended for drug offenses Cardenales de Lara players American expatriate baseball players in Venezuela Chicago White Sox players Cy Young Award winners Fort Lauderdale Yankees players Iowa Oaks players Johnson City Yankees players Knoxville Sox players Major League Baseball All-Star Game MVPs Major League Baseball pitchers National League All-Stars San Diego Padres players West Haven Yankees players Deaths from cancer in South Carolina Prisoners and detainees of the United States federal government