LaMarr Hoyt, Pitcher Whose Star Shown Brightly but Briefly, Dies at 66

His drug troubles continued. After several arrests on drug-possession charges, the Padres waived him in January 1987. Major League Baseball then suspended him for 60 days. The White Sox later re-signed him, but he was arrested again that December and did not pitch for them.

In eight major league seasons, Hoyt had a 98-68 record with a 3.99 earned run average.

Dewey LaMarr Hoyt Jr. was born on Jan. 1, 1955, in Columbia. His parents divorced when he was a year old. He was an all-around athlete in high school but, as he told The Chicago Sun-Times in 2001, he began using marijuana and having “beers with the boys” while a teenager.

The Yankees selected him in the 1973 major league amateur draft and traded him to the White Sox system in April 1977, in a multiplayer deal that brought shortstop Bucky Dent to Yankee Stadium.

Hoyt and his second wife, Leslie, had two sons, Matthew and Josh, and a daughter, Alexandra. His first marriage ended in divorce. A complete list of survivors was not immediately available.

After Hoyt’s baseball career ended, he sold sporting goods and household appliances.

“I am not happy about the way I left things in baseball,” he told The Chicago Sun-Times in 2001, when he and his second wife were raising three children and life was good. “I need to right the wrongs I caused. Everybody who knew me will understand when I say I never will give up.”

Tony LaRussa, who managed the White Sox during Hoyt’s years with them and is now in his second stint with the team, said in a statement upon Hoyt’s death: “My first impression of LaMarr was, ‘Here is a pitcher.’ He had average stuff but amazing command and tremendous confidence, and he never showed fear. What a great competitor.”

Article source: https://www.nytimes.com/2021/12/03/sports/baseball/lamarr-hoyt-dead.html