Longtime White Sox pitching coach Don Cooper passed away earlier this week, the team confirmed on Wednesday. Cooper was 70 years old.<\/p>\n
Cooper coached in the White Sox organization for 33 seasons. He served as the big-league pitching coach for 18 years. Cooper was at the helm of some of the best pitching staffs of the 2000s. The foursome of Mark Buehrle<\/a>, Freddy Garcia<\/a>, Jon Garland<\/a>, and Jose Contreras<\/a> carried the White Sox to a 2005 World Series victory.<\/p>\n \u201cHe fixed Jose Contreras,\u201d former White Sox catcher A.J. Pierzynski<\/a> told the Chicago Sun-Times<\/a>. \u201cHe helped Mark Buehrle become a borderline, arguably a Hall-of-Famer. Jon Garland, he made better. Brandon McCarthy<\/a>, helped have a long career. Freddy Garcia, he helped with stuff. Bobby Jenks<\/a>, he fixed, Cliff Politte<\/a>, Neal Cotts<\/a>. The list goes on and on of people that he helped, not only on the field, but off the field.\u201d<\/p>\n Cooper was also there for the beginning of future Hall of Famer Chris Sale<\/a>\u2019s career, which included five All-Star selections and four top-five Cy Young finishes. Sale came into the league as a reliever with big strikeout upside and questionable control. By the time his White Sox tenure ended, he was one of the most dominant starters in the sport.<\/p>\n