Name: Britt Burns
Rank: 45
Position: P
Years With White Sox: 1978-1985
Britt Burns was selected by the White Sox in the third round of the 1978 draft. Less than 2 months later, Burns made his major league debut, going 5 innings in a losing start against the Tigers in Detroit. He made one other start, another loss, before returning to the minor leagues. He finished the year 0-2 with a 12.91 ERA.
Burns spent most of 1979 starting in Double A, before getting promoted to Triple A and then, briefly, back to Chicago. He made 6 relief appearances, giving up 10 hits in only 5 innings and finishing with a 5.40 ERA.
Burns found himself in the major leagues to stay in 1980 as he moved in to the rotation for the White Sox. He found his first bit of success at the big league level, going 15-13 with a 2.84 ERA in 34 appearances, 32 of them starts. He finished 5th in Rookie of the Year voting, earning 4 first place votes.
1981 saw Burns putting up a repeat performance, despite the strike that split the season. He earned his first, and only, All Star nod and tied for 7th in Cy Young Award voting. He finished the year 10-6 with a 2.64 ERA.
Burns regressed a bit in 1982. His record held steady at 13-5, but his ERA rose to 4.04 in only 28 starts.
In 1983, Burns went 10-11 with a 3.58 ERA as the White Sox ran away with the AL West, earning their first division title. Burns took the mound in game 4 of the ALCS, with the Orioles looking to clinch the series, and threw the game of his life. Burns threw 9 scoreless innings, but Oriole pitchers Storm Davis and Tippy Martinez stymied the White Sox offense. With one out in the 10th, Burns gave up a solo home run to Tito Landrum. He was replaced and the Orioles tacked on 2 additional runs, ending the White Sox season.
Injuries and ineffectiveness led Burns to split time between the rotation and bullpen in 1984. He went 4-12 with a 5.00 ERA in 34 appearances, 16 of them starts. He also earned the only 3 saves of his career.
After an offseason conditioning program improved his physical state, Burns bounced back in 1985. He 18-11 with a 3.96 ERA in 36 appearances, 34 of them starts, both career highs. He finished tied for 7th in Cy Young Award voting. Following the year, he was traded to the Yankees, along with 2 minor leaguers, for Joe Cowley and Ron Hassey.
Burns returned to the White Sox organization in 2013 as pitching coach for Double A Birmingham, a position he held through 2015.
Burns’ numbers in a White Sox uniform, both for games I attended and overall, were: