Longtime MLB Coach Don Cooper Dead At 70

Longtime Chicago White Sox coach Don Cooper has sadly passed away. He was 70.

Cooper pitched in the MLB from 1981, spending time with the Minnesota Twins, Toronto Blue Jays and New York Yankees. He owned a 1-6 record with a 5.27 ERA and 47 strikeouts. It wasn’t until 2002 that he became the pitching coach for the White Sox, a position he held for 18 seasons.

The highlight of Cooper’s run in Chicago had to be winning a World Series title in 2005. He coached a pitching staff that featured Mark Buehrle, Freddy Garcia, Jon Garland, José Contreras and Orlando Hernández.

The White Sox released a statement this Wednesday regarding Cooper’s legacy.

“Don Cooper spent 33 seasons as a coach in the White Sox organization from 1988-2020, including 18 full seasons as the major-league pitching coach. Cooper served as the pitching coach for the 2005 World Series champion club, which became the first team since the 1928 Yankees to toss four consecutive complete games in a single postseason,” the team said. “Forever in our thoughts.”