Don Cooper
From BR Bullpen
Donald James Cooper
- Bats Right, Throws Right
- Height 6' 1", Weight 185 lb.
- School New York Institute of Technology
- Debut April 9, 1981
- Final Game June 2, 1985
- Born January 15, 1957 in New York, NY USA
[edit] Biographical Information
Pitcher Don Cooper was selected by the New York Yankees in the 17th round of the 1978 amateur draft, made his pro debut that year, and threw a no-hitter for the Fort Lauderdale Yankees on August 7th. Following the 1980 season, he was selected by the Minnesota Twins in the Rule V Draft. He made his big league debut in 1981 and spent part of two seasons with the Twins, primarily as a reliever. While with the Toledo Mud Hens in 1982, he also led the International League with 125 strikeouts.
After the 1982 season, Cooper was traded to the Toronto Blue Jays. He was an IL All-Star with the Syracuse Chiefs in 1983 and earned another cup of coffee in the majors that year with the Jays. The next spring, he was sent to the New York Yankees, and he pitched in his final big league game on June 2, 1985. Overall, he was 1-6 with a 5.27 ERA in 44 big league games and went 65-47 with a 3.46 ERA and 64 saves in 289 appearances in the minors.
In 1989, Cooper played for the St. Lucie Legends of the Senior Professional Baseball Association. The next year, he pitched for the Fort Myers Sun Sox; in 8 games Don was 0-1 with a 2.77 ERA and was tied for the league lead with 4 saves when the SPBA folded.
After his playing career ended, he went on to become a pitching coach within the Chicago White Sox organization, making stops with the the South Bend White Sox (1988), Sarasota White Sox (1989-1991), and Birmingham Barons (1992). He was the White Sox pitching coordinator in 1993 and 1994, and split 1995 between the Nashville Sounds and Chicago as pitching coach. He was the pitching coach at Nashville in 1996 and was the White Sox' pitching coordinator again from 1997 to 2002. Since 2002, he has been the Sox pitching coach.
