Sox Scoops 45.016: Black Sox Name Pitcher of the Year

[HoosierVic]

By Mike Talley
Black Sox Beat Writer
Chicago Sports Online

The Chicago Black Sox on Monday announced that one of the key members of its “Four Horsemen of the Calumet” has won the team’s Pitcher of the Year Award for 2044.

Gilberto Sosa

Gilberto Sosa, 25, a hard-throwing right-handed relief pitcher from Panama, started the year in a traditional closer role for the Sox but became a so-called “stopper” in mid-June after Chicago acquired another flame-throwing reliever in the person of Mitchell Purssell in a trade with Phoenix.

Sosa – together with Purssell, Francisco Salgado and Gilberto Cordero – became the Four Horsemen and transformed the Sox from a team scuffling to just get above .500 to the 2nd-place team in the Heartland Division and a playoff squad.

And while all four of the Horsemen made huge contributions, Sosa was a standout. He posted a 2.62 ERA with a 2.64 FIP, with a team-high 204 strikeouts, 43 walks and 4.3 WAR. It was superlative season for a young man who’s made a habit of excellence since he entered the BBA in 2041.

“It was tough picking a winner of this award because, really, all of the Four Horsemen who make a claim for it, and so could starting pitcher Amayas Moelling, who also had a fine year,” said David Brown, pitching coach for the Sox.

“But, in the end, you just couldn’t deny what Gilberto had achieved this year and we couldn’t let it pass without recognition.”

Sosa was modest about his win, saying he shares the honor with his fellow “Horsemen,” along with Coach Brown.

“It was David who had the vision to put together an elite squad of stoppers, which wasn’t something Chicago had ever tried before,” Sosa said. “So congrats to him, too. It was a fun and rewarding season – let’s do it again in ’45!”