January 24Jan 24 January 24, 2003 - Sometimes luck plays a part in things...sometimes a very big part. On this date, Sox G.M. Kenny Williams signed free agent pitcher Esteban Loaiza to a contract. Loaiza was expected to round out the back end of the rotation...he did more than that. By season’s end he had won 21 games, started the All-Star Game and led the A.L. in strikeouts with 207. His ERA was 2.90. He could have won the Cy Young Award but a pair of 1-0 losses to Detroit appeared to be the difference in doing so. He ended up second in the voting. The next year he was traded to the Yankees at midseason, for pitcher Jose Contreras…another deal that worked out to the White Sox advantage! He was reacquired off of waivers by the Sox on June 4, 2008 and appeared in three games before being given his release and retiring.
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