The White Sox shared some sad news during an otherwise exciting week, announcing that longtime pitching coach Don Cooper has passed away at the age of 70. The legendary White Sox pitching coach spent 33 seasons with the organization from 1988-2020, with 18 of those as the team’s pitching coach, including serving in that role on the 2005 World Series team. Under Coop’s tenure, the White Sox turned into an organization known for developing pitching, with arms like Mark Buehrle, Jon Garland, John Danks, Chris Sale, Jose Quintana, and more achieving varying levels of success with the White Sox.
Several current and former White Sox associates of Cooper reflected on his life and his impact on theirs, including the manager of the 2005 team, Ozzie Guillen.
My career wouldn't have been the same without Don Cooper. Coop was one of a kind and taught me so much about pitchers, pitching, and their mindset. Always a close friend to my kids and family. Thank you for everything, Coop. My deepest condolences to his family. Rest in peace. https://t.co/yjGLfwMj7Z
— Ozzie Guillen (@OzzieGuillen) September 23, 2026
Former White Sox ace Chris Sale, who started Tuesday for Atlanta, spoke about his experiences with Cooper after the game.
“That was a tough one,” Sale said. “I found out literally before I went out. It’s tough news. I was literally just talking about him. I was on a podcast with Dallas Braden and Jarred Carrabis, and I was literally just talking about him yesterday. Who he was to me when I was a young guy in Chicago and the things he instilled in me. I wouldn’t be here without him.”
Don Cooper's numerous success stories will define his White Sox legacy
Chris Sale’s career is perhaps one of Don Cooper’s success stories. A first-round pick of the White Sox, Sale made five straight All-Star games from 2012 to 2016 under Cooper’s tenure as pitching coach. He’s gone on to continue his excellence with Boston and Atlanta in a career that will most likely end in Cooperstown. And he gave a lot of credit to Don Cooper.
If you’re anything like me and grew up watching the White Sox in the early 2000s, you probably repeated the mantra “Coop will fix him” to yourself just about any time the White Sox added a pitcher without a track record of success. And many times, he did. The 2005 White Sox were fueled by their starting rotation, and their record-breaking four consecutive complete games in the postseason never would’ve happened without Coop. He turned struggling arms like Jose Contreras, Javier Vasquez, Gavin Floyd, and others into solid big league starting pitchers, and laid the foundation for the organization's pitching development, which became their strength during his tenure.
It’s been an exciting week for the White Sox, who clinched their first Postseason berth since 2021 on Thursday. That excitement, however, comes during a somber time for the White Sox community following the loss of a franchise legend. May Don Cooper always be remembered fondly by White Sox fans, and our condolences go out to his family, friends, former colleagues, and all who knew him.
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