White Sox Pitching Coach Don Cooper, Architect of the 2005 World Series Rotation, Dies at 70

Don Cooper, the pitching coach who built the rotation behind the Chicago White Sox's 2005 World Series championship, died Tuesday, September 22, at his home in Brentwood, Tennessee. He was 70.

The news came from Cooper's family, who posted the announcement on his personal Facebook page, and was confirmed by the White Sox in a statement Wednesday. No cause of death has been disclosed.

"Donald James Cooper passed away in Brentwood, TN, leaving Earth to be with his Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ," his family wrote, according to Sox On 35th. "His fierce passion for baseball, and the coaches and players around him, brought him a life filled with great pride, stories, and accomplishments. This passion was superseded only by his unbreakable love for his family and friends."

The family said funeral arrangements have not yet been finalized.

A 33-Year Run With One Organization

Cooper spent 33 seasons in the White Sox organization, from 1988 to 2020, including 18 seasons as the major-league pitching coach, according to the team's official statement. He held that job through multiple managerial changes. Larry Brown Sports reported Cooper took over as pitching coach in 2002 and was retained even after manager Ozzie Guillen left in 2011, before the White Sox let him go alongside manager Rick Renteria following the shortened 2020 season.

His defining achievement came in 2005. The White Sox went 11-1 that postseason and won their first World Series title since 1917, ending an 88-year drought. Cooper's staff posted a combined 2.55 ERA across the playoff run.

In the American League Championship Series against the Los Angeles Angels, after dropping Game 1, White Sox starters Mark Buehrle, Jon Garland, Freddy Garcia and Jose Contreras each pitched complete games in Games 2 through 5, according to CBS News. That made the 2005 White Sox the first team since the 1928 New York Yankees to throw four consecutive complete games in a single postseason. Only 21 complete games have been thrown in the entire MLB postseason since, per CBS News, a development that reflects how far the sport has moved from that style of pitching.

From Yankees Farmhand to Championship Coach

Cooper's own playing career was brief and unremarkable by comparison. Born in New York, he was drafted by the Yankees after his junior year of college but returned for his senior season before signing with New York in 1978, according to the Society for American Baseball Research, as cited by Yahoo Sports. He appeared in 44 major-league games between 1981 and 1985 with the Minnesota Twins, Toronto Blue Jays and Yankees, compiling a 1-6 record before his playing days ended.

Cooper made his mark as a teacher of pitching, not as a pitcher. Tributes poured in from the players and staff who worked under him. Ozzie Guillen, who managed the 2005 champions, wrote on X that his "career wouldn't have been the same without Don Cooper," adding that Cooper "taught me so much about pitchers, pitching, and their mindset" and was "always a close friend" to his family.

Former White Sox bench coach Joey Cora called Cooper "not only a great coach, a great Person, all he wanted to do in life was to help people," in an Instagram post. Jermaine Dye, the 2005 World Series MVP, wrote that "Coop will be missed," and catcher A.J. Pierzynski posted a similar tribute on his Instagram Story.

Pending Details

The White Sox have not announced a cause of death, and the family's statement gave no indication of a prior illness. Funeral arrangements remain pending as of this writing, with the family saying they will share details once finalized. Coverage across outlets is otherwise consistent on the core facts of Cooper's tenure and the 2005 title run, differing only on minor details like the exact year he was named pitching coach.