Any White Sox fan, who has followed the team over the past decade, knows just how important pitching coach Don Cooper is to this team. Cooper has worked in the White Sox organization since 1988, he worked his way up through the minor league system, finally replacing Nardi Contreras as the White Sox pitching coach in 2002. Since being promoted, ‘Coop’ has worked tirelessly with his staff, turning a number of pitchers into stars, and it’s safe to say the White Sox don’t win the World Series in ’05 without him.
Cooper’s legacy in respected by everyone in the league and the pitchers that work with him know that they have one of the best in the business. That being said, just how great is Don Cooper?
We all know that he has help produce some incredible pitchers. Mark Buehrle, Jose Quintana and Chris Sale are just a handful of names. What really shows how great Cooper is when he turns pitchers careers right side up and helps them produce more than they were brought in to do.
Matt Thornton
Thornton spent eight years with Cooper from 2006-2013. From the bullpen, he had his career low WHIP of 1.00 in his second year with the team. Just two years later in 2010, he had a WHIP of 1.01.
Now, how does that compare to before he came to Don Cooper?
In his two seasons with Seattle from 2004-2005, Thornton had a WHIP of 1.68 both seasons. In his first year with the Sox, that number dropped to 1.24. Not only did Cooper help Thornton lower his WHIP, his BAA (Batting Average Against) and ERA also dropped when he came to the White Sox. In 2005, he had an ERA of 5.21. The next year, which was the first one with the Sox, he had an ERA of 3.33. The same pattern happened with his BAA, as it dropped from .248 to .229 as he entered his first year with the team.
Matt Latos
Now, before you begin to go back because you think that I am crazy, hear me out. The initial reason the Sox signed Latos was because they needed a back-end pitcher who could at least keep the team in the ball game.
Latos had a record of 6-2 in 2016 with Chicago, which was his first winning season since 2013. His ERA of 4.42 was the best since 2014. Given he took a turn for the worst towards this middle of summer in 2016, the only reason that he made this list was because he had a comeback year.
This is one of the most compelling reasons that Don Cooper is so great. He can turn anyone’s career around, even if it means that they only get half a season out of him, that short time could be full of quality pitching.
Bobby Jenks
The closer who was famous for fiddling with his hat and shirt when pitching in the 9th inning of the World Series actually declined as soon as he left the White Sox and Cooper’s tutelage.
His ERA with Chicago through six seasons was 3.38. In 2011, he was signed by Boston and had his worst season ever. This included an ERA of 6.32 and a BAA of .328. Coincidence? I think not.
Miguel Gonzalez
Much like Latos, Gonzalez was a last minute signing by Rick Hahn at the start of the 2016 season. He was just supposed to be a guy that could fill in as the No. 4 or 5 spot in the rotation, but the way he pitched made it seem that he was arguably one of the best on the team.
His 2015 season in Baltimore, however, was not a highlight year. He held a 4.91 ERA and a 1.4 WHIP. Then, he came to Chicago and worked with Cooper. That season, he rebounded and put up great numbers. His ERA and WHIP dropped to 3.73 and 1.24. He is projected have another superb season this year, with Cooper helping him along the way.
James Shields
Hold back the yelling, at least for a second. Don’t get me wrong, Shields wasn’t the best pitcher in the MLB last season, far from it actually; however, that was mainly because of his time in San Diego.
The Sox traded for Shields in a middle of his slump, and in baseball, that takes time to get out of. Fortunately, Cooper reminded Shields how to throw a baseball. In his first three games with the Sox, he gave up 21 earned runs in 8.2 innings.
How does this show that Don Cooper is incredible? It’s what he did after his first three games. His next two games, he gave up only four earned runs in 11.2 innings. Then July came. He had an incredible 1.78 RA and only gave up seven earned runs in five games.
Did I mention that he shut out the soon-to-be World Series champions Chicago Cubs?
Jessie Crain
For a short time, the duo of Chris Sale and Jessie Crain in the bullpen was one of the best in the league. Crain spent 10 seasons in the MLB, playing for the Twins who had originally drafted him as a shortstop, but decided to move him to the relief.
In Minnesota, Crain had a ERA of 3.58, which is pretty respectable. Then he came to the Sox, and you can probably guess what happened to him after he shook hands with Cooper.
In his three years with the White Sox, Crain posted a spectacular 1.93 ERA and in 2011, his first year with Chicago, he tallied up his career high 70 strikeouts. In fact, he got so good that in his final season, in the 36.2 innings that he pitched, he allowed 0 home runs. It once again shows how brilliant Cooper is at his job.
Coop Deserves A Lot Of The Credit
All White Sox fans love Cooper. Not only is he great at what he does, but he wants to stay there. Through the firing of Ozzie Guillen and Robin Ventura, he has denied any thought in wanting to be the manager of the team. He likes where he is and he is great at it. He is a wizard. Even John Danks, the John Danks in his prime, once said, “Coop deserves most of the credit for where I am today“.
Cooper is truely spectacular at what he does and how he has contributed to this organization. It is simply incredible.
It’s pretty safe to say that Cooper is legendary. Whenever a pitcher joins the White Sox, they are excited and eager to learn from the pitching coach. He has turned around the careers of so many players, and has started the careers of many more. You can sure that the boat load of new pitching prospects Chicago has acquired will get the best pitching coach in the league.
