Athletes - Neal Cotts

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	Athletes - Neal Cotts

Neal James Cotts (born March 25, 1980 in Belleville, Illinois) is a left-handed picher currently with the Chicago White Sox.

Cotts graduated, in 1998, from Lebannon High School. He then attended Illinois State University, and was First-Team All Missouri Valley Conference. Cotts was originally drafted by the Oakland Athletics in the 2nd round of the 2001 draft becoming the second highest player drafted in the history of Illinois State.

In 2002, Cotts spent the entire season in Class A Modesto of the California League, where he won 12 games in 28 starts. In the offseason Cotts was traded in a six-player deal to the White Sox on December 16, 2002. The main players in the trade were relief pitchers Billy Koch and Keith Foulke.

Cotts began the 2003 season ranked as the number three prospect in the White Sox farm system. Cotts started the season in Class AA Birmingham, of the Southern League, where he was 9-6 with a 2.12 Earned Run Average, and 131 strikeouts. In July of 2003, Cotts was the starting pitcher for the United States team in Major League Baseball's Futures Game. He debuted for Chicago on August 12, 2003 as a starter against the Anaheim Angels going 2.1 innings allowing two runs on two hits with six walks. He would receive a no-decision in the game. On August 22, Neal won his first game against the Texas Rangers, going 5.0 innings allowing five hits. Cotts next start would be his last of the season, going a third of an inning against the New York Yankees, in Yankee Stadium. He ended the season with a record of 1-1 and an 8.10 ERA.

In 2004, new manager Ozzie Guillen inserted Cotts into the bullpen, where his performance was shaky in his first season. Cotts finished April with a 0.90 ERA, but from May-July had an ERA of 8.28. He finished the season with 65.1 innings pitched, a 4-4 record, and an ERA of 5.65. One bright spot occurred on June 18, when Cotts got his first major league hit, a double, off Luis Ayala of the Montreal Expos.

In 2005 Cotts had an impressive year, going 4-0 while appearing in 69 games. He threw 60.1 innings, had a 1.94 Earned Run Average, 58 strikeouts, and yielded 1 home run in helping the White Sox win the American League Central Division. MLB.com awarded Cotts the "Setup Man of the Year Award" which is voted on by the fans. In the American League Championship Series, Cotts was the only person to pitch out of the bullpen in the Sox 4-1 series win, he threw 2/3 of an inning, in Game 1. In the World Series Cotts pitched in all four games winning Game 2. For the Series he went 1.1 innings allowing 1 hit, 1 walk, no runs, and struck out 2. For the entire post season Cotts went 1-0 in 6 games 2.1 innings, allowed 1 hit, 1 walk, 2 strikeouts, and an ERA of 0.00.

Trivia

Originally wore number 38 for the White Sox, he now wears number 46.

After the White Sox clinched the division Cotts was asked if he prefers beer or champagne; he answered, "Whiskey."

External Reference

[ Visit the complete Wikipedia entry for Neal Cotts ]

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