The White Sox entered their first American League Championship Series with soaring expectations. After blowing away opponents in the second half, beating Baltimore seemed to be a mere formality in getting to the World Series.
It all fell into place on Oct. 5, 1983, when LaMarr Hoyt dominated the Orioles in the first game, winning 2-1. The outing was an impressive start for the team’s first trip to postseason play since 1959.
But that would be as good as it would get for the Sox. Hoyt never got to pitch another game.
The prelude
After getting off to a 16-24 start, manager Tony La Russa’s Sox caught fire and won 99 games. Carlton Fisk had an MVP-type season behind the plate and Harold Baines, Greg Luzinski and Ron Kittle (the American League rookie of the year) provided fireworks.
But the key to the team was starting pitchers Hoyt, Richard Dotson and Floyd Bannister. They were virtually flawless in the second half as the Sox ran away with the AL West.
On to Baltimore
The Sox wasted several opportunities against Baltimore’s Scott McGregor in Game 1. From the sixth through the ninth innings, they put nine runners on base but scored only one run.
Two runs were more than enough for Hoyt. He showed the form that earned him the Cy Young Award with a 24-10 record. Hoyt finished two pitches shy of 100 in going the distance, allowing only five hits and no walks.
Still, there was some drama in the ninth. The Orioles finally got the on the board and had Cal Ripken Jr. on first with two outs and future Hall of Famer Eddie Murray coming to the plate. La Russa stuck with Hoyt. With the Baltimore crowd on its feet, Murray bounced the first pitch off Hoyt’s glove directly to shortstop Scott Fletcher for the game-ending force.
One game down, two to go to send the Sox to the World Series.
Cold bats
The Sox didn’t win another game. Mike Boddicker shut them down in Game 2 and Murray lit up Dotson to lead Baltimore in Game 3.
If the Sox could win Game 4, Hoyt was set to pitch Game 5 in Chicago.
He never got the chance. Starter Britt Burns was brilliant on a cold Saturday at Comiskey Park, but Jerry Dybzinski’s base-running mistake and Tito Landrum’s 10th-inning homer helped Baltimore to a 3-0 victory. The Orioles won the series 3-1.
What they said then
Tribune reporter Jerome Holtzman writing on Game 1: “The game ball went to Hoyt. As usual, he had superb control, throwing only 98 pitches and not walking a batter. An even better indication of his control was that he threw a strike on the first pitch to 26 of the 31 batters he faced, including the last 17 in a row.”
What they say now
Former White Sox general manager Roland Hemond: “LaMarr threw a masterpiece in Baltimore. He really kept them at bay. He had pinpoint control. He was a master of setting up the hitters. It was a great outing.”
On not getting to Game 5: “We felt if we had gotten to Game 5, we had an outstanding chance with Hoyt. He already had mastered the Orioles. Baltimore knew it would have been tough. It’s a shame we couldn’t get there.”
On the similarity between the 1983 and 2005 Sox: “The thing that reminds me of ’83 is that this team also has a great cohesiveness and camaraderie. They all get along and pull together as a team.”
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In perspective: 1983
– More than 125 million tune in to watch the final episode of “M*A*S*H.”
– “Terms of Endearment” wins the Oscar for best picture.
– The Police record their final album, “Synchronicity.”
