CHICAGO -- He was once a trivia question in the annals of White Sox history, as in "Name the rookie left-hander who didn't make it out of the first inning of a late-August start in Yankee Stadium, one of the numerous causes attributed to the dismissal of manager Jerry Manuel after the 2003 season?"
The answer, of course, is Neal Cotts, now one of the top relievers in all of the American League.
He was once a young southpaw whom new manager Ozzie Guillen took a chance on as a reliever out of Spring Training 2004, despite never having pitched out of the bullpen in his entire baseball career. After a full season of ups and downs, spent partially learning how to handle the workload,
Cotts has developed into one of the best setup men in the game.
In fact, Cotts' work this past year in front of Dustin Hermanson, Bobby Jenks and even Damaso Marte has been recognized by the fans, as Cotts earned This Year in Baseball's Setup Man Award. Cotts finished with 21.7 percent of the vote, coming in ahead of Houston's Dan Wheeler (18.2 percent) and the Yankees' Tom Gordon (12.8 percent). The White Sox Cliff Politte finished fourth with 9.7 percent of the vote.
Cotts was one of two White Sox winners in the awards, which took in 3,303,546 votes, up from 800,000 last season. Ozzie Guillen was selected as Manager of the Year, with 22.5 percent of the vote, outdistancing the Yankees' Joe Torre and the Cardinals' Tony La Russa, who just happened to be Guillen's first manager as a player.
Mark Buehrle finished second in the Starter of the Year category, falling two percentage points behind St. Louis' Chris Carpenter but finishing ahead of Houston's Roger Clemens. Some of Buehrle's victories were made possible by Cotts' setup work.
The 25-year-old, whom Guillen now envisions more as a closer than a starter, finished with a 4-0 record and 1.94 earned run average over a career-high 69 games. Cotts allowed a mere 38 hits and 29 walks in 60 1/3 innings while striking out 58. He yielded just one home run all season, including the six games he worked in the postseason. Cotts did not give up an earned run during the playoffs.
Cotts' 2005 effort was so impressive that the White Sox felt comfortable enough to move Marte to the Pirates in exchange for utility man Rob Mackowiak. Cotts surpassed Marte as the South Siders' late-inning left-hander after Marte had emerged as one of the best southpaw relievers in the AL over the past three seasons.
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It will be Cotts' turn to shine in 2006, working alongside Jenks in the eighth and ninth innings.
MLB.com started the "This Year in Baseball Awards" in 2002 to give fans the opportunity to express their opinions on the top players, managers and moments from each season. The voting for this year's award began on Oct. 31 and concluded Dec. 9 at midnight ET, and the results were announced live on MLB.com at 1 p.m. ET on Thursday. Awards are presented to winners during pregame, on-field ceremonies early the following season.
The answer, of course, is Neal Cotts, now one of the top relievers in all of the American League.
He was once a young southpaw whom new manager Ozzie Guillen took a chance on as a reliever out of Spring Training 2004, despite never having pitched out of the bullpen in his entire baseball career. After a full season of ups and downs, spent partially learning how to handle the workload,
Cotts has developed into one of the best setup men in the game.
In fact, Cotts' work this past year in front of Dustin Hermanson, Bobby Jenks and even Damaso Marte has been recognized by the fans, as Cotts earned This Year in Baseball's Setup Man Award. Cotts finished with 21.7 percent of the vote, coming in ahead of Houston's Dan Wheeler (18.2 percent) and the Yankees' Tom Gordon (12.8 percent). The White Sox Cliff Politte finished fourth with 9.7 percent of the vote.
Cotts was one of two White Sox winners in the awards, which took in 3,303,546 votes, up from 800,000 last season. Ozzie Guillen was selected as Manager of the Year, with 22.5 percent of the vote, outdistancing the Yankees' Joe Torre and the Cardinals' Tony La Russa, who just happened to be Guillen's first manager as a player.
Mark Buehrle finished second in the Starter of the Year category, falling two percentage points behind St. Louis' Chris Carpenter but finishing ahead of Houston's Roger Clemens. Some of Buehrle's victories were made possible by Cotts' setup work.
The 25-year-old, whom Guillen now envisions more as a closer than a starter, finished with a 4-0 record and 1.94 earned run average over a career-high 69 games. Cotts allowed a mere 38 hits and 29 walks in 60 1/3 innings while striking out 58. He yielded just one home run all season, including the six games he worked in the postseason. Cotts did not give up an earned run during the playoffs.
Cotts' 2005 effort was so impressive that the White Sox felt comfortable enough to move Marte to the Pirates in exchange for utility man Rob Mackowiak. Cotts surpassed Marte as the South Siders' late-inning left-hander after Marte had emerged as one of the best southpaw relievers in the AL over the past three seasons.
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It will be Cotts' turn to shine in 2006, working alongside Jenks in the eighth and ninth innings.
MLB.com started the "This Year in Baseball Awards" in 2002 to give fans the opportunity to express their opinions on the top players, managers and moments from each season. The voting for this year's award began on Oct. 31 and concluded Dec. 9 at midnight ET, and the results were announced live on MLB.com at 1 p.m. ET on Thursday. Awards are presented to winners during pregame, on-field ceremonies early the following season.
