History’s Lost Sox: Jack McDowell
An in-depth, statistical look at the career of Chicago White Sox pitcher and 1993 American League Cy Young winner Jack McDowell.
It has been a rough couple of years for the Chicago White Sox. With many more losses than wins and injuries to the stars of tomorrow, it hasn’t been the best time to be a White Sox fan. In times like these, it makes sense to go back and look at former White Sox players and remember some of the past legends. When you think of the White Sox, names like Frank Thomas, Mark Buehrle, Paul Konerko, and Shoeless Joe Jackson come to mind. They are not the only players that make up the history of this historic franchise. Many players become forgotten as time passes. 1993 Cy Young winner Jack McDowell seems to be one of these players. McDowell, like a stocking in the washer, has become one of History’s Lost Sox.
Jack McDowell was the first of a string of excellent draft choices by the White Sox in the late 1980s. He was the fifth pick in the 1987 MLB draft out of Stanford. Following that 1987 first-round pick the White Sox added Robin Ventura, Frank Thomas and Alex Fernandez in subsequent drafts. That is best run of drafts in White Sox history. McDowell spent very little time in the minors before impacting the major league roster. He was drafted in June and was a September call up later that year. He started four games, accomplishing a quality start in all four of them, winning three of them, and giving up zero runs in two of them. He was 21 years old, a few months removed from college, and he already looked like a potential ace.
McDowell’s college career was also very impressive. He led the 1987 College World Series champion Stanford Cardinal in starts, innings pitched, wins and strikeouts. He did the same in 1986 with a much better ERA and WHIP. Ten of his sixteen starts for Stanford in 1986 were complete. A sign of things to come during his White Sox career. Only seven pitchers in Stanford history have more single-season wins than McDowell did in 1987.
White Sox Regular
In 1990 McDowell started to show what he would be known for, which was tenacity, toughness, and consistency. He pitched 200 or more innings from 1990 to 1993. He pitched at least 200 innings in each of those years and made at least 33 starts. His ERA in each of those seasons was under 4.00. During those years McDowell pitched nine more complete games than any pitcher in baseball. McDowell accumulated 73 wins from 1990 to 1993. The only other pitchers with 70 wins are Hall of Fame members, Tom Glavine and Greg Maddux. McDowell was the definition of a workhorse during those years. He was having an awesome year in 1994 before the season was shortened by the MLB player’s strike.
McDowell is the last White Sox pitcher to win the Cy Young. He won this prestigious award in 1993 after placing ninth in 1991 and second in 1992. McDowell actually had a better ERA, FIP, WHIP, and more complete games during his second-place year than he did when he actually won the award. His WAR was also higher for anyone who appreciates advanced stats.
McDowell started 191 games with the White Sox. He won 91 of them and pitched a complete game in 49 of them. In fact, since McDowell’s debut in 1987, 160 pitchers in MLB have thrown at least 15 complete games. Only two of those pitchers have thrown a complete game in a higher percentage of those starts. Those pitchers are Bruce Hurst and MLB Hall of Fame member Jack Morris.
A lot of older baseball fans talk about how much different the game used to be. McDowell illustrates this huge change in the game and bullpen use. McDowell pitched 250 or more innings three years in a row. No player in baseball has pitched 250 innings since 2011. That pitcher was Justin Verlander. He is one of two active players to have pitched 250 innings in a season, the other being the soon to be retired CC Sabathia. McDowell’s last 250 innings pitched season was 1993. He was one of eight pitchers to throw 250 or more innings during that season.
Post-White Sox Career
McDowell left the White Sox after the strike-shortened 1994 season. He was traded to the Yankees for Lyle Mouton and Keith Heberling. Mouton had a couple of decent years in Chicago and McDowell was his usual self for a season with the Yankees. He pitched over 200 innings, had an ERA below four, and led the American League in complete games. He was 29 during that Yankees season. He had back pain during his last few starts for New York. He was eventually signed by Cleveland after the 1995 season and was never the same pitcher.
The man who had led the American League in complete games three separate times in his early years threw five complete games in his first year with Cleveland and never again would pitch all nine innings. He pitched four seasons after leaving the Yankees, never again having an ERA below 5.00.
McDowell may not have spent a long time in Chicago, but he still holds a spot in the record books. In the last 100 years of White Sox history McDowell ranks 11th in strikeouts, 11th in wins and 16th in innings pitched. His 3.50 ERA with the White Sox ranks 12th in the last 100 years for the White Sox. He is one of only three White Sox pitchers to win a Cy Young, the others being Early Wynn and LaMarr Hoyt. He struggled in the 1993 playoffs and unfortunately did not have a chance to redeem himself in the 1994 playoffs during the strike-shortened season.
light. Related Story. Chicago White Sox: Trusting Rick Hahn
McDowell lives on in the hearts of Sox fans. He was one of the stars of some very good teams that just never could quite win a championship. From the time McDowell became a regular in 1990 until he left the team in 1994, the Sox were 428-333. That’s a 56.2% winning percentage. A 56.2% winning percentage is a 91 win team. Those White Sox were on pace to win 91 games a season for five years. Yet all they had to show for it were six games in the 1993 ALCS against the Blue Jays. Much like in life, timing is everything in baseball.