Don Sutton
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| Don Sutton | ||
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| Pitcher | ||
| Born: April 2, 1945 Clio, Alabama |
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| Batted: Right | Threw: Right | |
| MLB debut | ||
| April 14, 1966 for the Los Angeles Dodgers |
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| Final game | ||
| August 9, 1988 for the Los Angeles Dodgers |
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| Career statistics | ||
| Win-Loss record | 324-256 | |
| Earned run average | 3.26 | |
| Strikeouts | 3,574 | |
| Teams | ||
| Career highlights and awards | ||
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| Member of the National | ||
 Baseball Hall of Fame |
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| Elected | 1998 | |
| Vote | 81.6% | |
Donald Howard Sutton (born April 2, 1945) is a former Major League Baseball player and current television sportscaster.
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[edit] Biography
Sutton was born in Clio, Alabama, a small town in Barbour County, and on the same date as former Dodger teammate Reggie Smith. Clio is also the birthplace of the late Alabama governor George Wallace. He was born to sharecroppers at the end of World War II, in a tar-paper shack.[1] At the time he was born his father was 18 and his mother was 15.[2] Sutton's father, Howard, gave him the strong work ethic that he had throughout his career.[1] His father tried logging and construction work, and in looking for work, moved the family to Molino, Florida, just north of Pensacola.[2][3]
Sutton attended J. M. Tate High School in Cantonment/Gonzalez, Florida where he played baseball, basketball, and football.[4] He led his baseball team to the small-school state finals two years in row, winning his junior year, 1962, and losing 2-1 in his senior year, and was named all-county, all-conference, and all-state for both of those seasons.[5][6][7] He graduated in 1963, and was voted "Most Likely to Succeed".[8] He wanted to attend the University of Florida, but then coach Dave Fuller was not interested.[6] Instead he attended Gulf Coast Community College in Panama City, Florida for one year, and then after a good summer league, was signed by the Dodgers.[6]
A right-handed pitcher, Sutton played for the Sioux Falls Packers as a minor leaguer, and entered the major league at the age of 21. Don Sutton's major league debut was on April 14, 1966, the same day that future 300-game winner Greg Maddux was born. In the majors, he played 23 years for the Los Angeles Dodgers, Houston Astros, Milwaukee Brewers, Oakland Athletics, and California Angels. He won a total of 324 games, 58 of them shutouts and five of them one-hitters, and he is eighth on baseball's all-time strikeout list with 3,574 K's. He also holds the major league record for number of consecutive losses to one team, having lost 13 straight games to the Chicago Cubs.
He was known for doctoring baseballs. His nickname was "Black & Decker"; legend has it that when Sutton met notorious greaseballer Gaylord Perry, Perry handed him a tube of Vaseline, and Sutton responded with a thank-you, then handed him a sheet of sandpaper.
A 4-time All-Star, Sutton was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1998. His candidacy and subsequent election were controversial, with critics pointing out that he had never won a Cy Young Award, had won 20 games only once, and had rarely led his league in any statistical category. However, supporters noted that no pitcher with either 300 victories or 3000 strikeouts had ever failed to be elected to the Hall of Fame, and that his 324 wins were, at the time of his retirement, the most by any right-handed pitcher since the 1920s, and many pitchers with worse records were in the Hall of Fame.
Sutton holds the modern record for most at-bats (1,354) without ever hitting a home run.
Sutton's legacy of consistency and longevity is an amazing feat in itself, in an age before pitching counts would lift pitchers well before nine innings. He was the mainstay of a ball club with a pitching-rich tradition, a career that spanned from the Drysdale-Koufax era (1966) to Fernando Valenzuela (1980). In the final game of the 1980 season, Sutton was called on to complete a game winning save, 4-3, over Houston, forcing a one-game playoff - a poetic conclusion to a brilliant span of 15 years in L.A.
[edit] Stats
- Height: 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)
- Weight: 185 lb (85 kg)
- Throws: Right
- Bats: Right
- Wins: 324 - Losses: 256
- Lifetime ERA: 3.26
- Total Innings: 5,282.1
- Strikeouts: 3,574
- One-Hitters: 5
- Two-Hitters: 9
- All-time Dodger leader in:
- Wins (233)
- Games Pitched (550)
- Games Started (533)
- Innings Pitched (3,814)
- Strikeouts (2,696)
- Shutouts (52)
- Opening Day Starts (7)
- LC Series Games
- Record: 4-1
- ERA: 2.02
- Total Innings: 49
- World Series Games
- Record: 2-3
- ERA: 5.26
- Total Innings: 51
- All-Star Games
- ERA: 0.00
- Total Innings: 8
- Record 1-0 (NL 4-0)
[edit] Broadcasting career
Sutton started his broadcasting career in 1989 with the Atlanta Braves on TBS, a position that he held through 2006. He left TBS after the 2006 season, mainly because the network will broadcast fewer games in future seasons. Sutton is now a color commentator for the Washington Nationals on the MASN network.[9]
Sutton has also broadcast golf and served as a pre- and post-game analyst for NBC's coverage of the 1987 League Championship Series.
His son, Daron, is a broadcaster for the Arizona Diamondbacks.
[edit] References
- ^ a b "Hall's doors open for Doby, Sutton" - Associated Press - 03/08/99
- ^ a b "Chatting With A Hall of Famer" - Nats320 -- A Washington Nationals Blog - July 9, 2007
- ^ Lederer, Rich. "1966 - Dodgers 6, Astros 3 -- Sutton's First Win" - This Day in Dodger Baseball - (c/o Baseball Analysts) - April 18, 2005
- ^ "Birdsong, Gaines, Summerall, Sutton headline Florida High School Athletic Hall of Fame’s 2006 induction class" - Florida High School Athletic Association - February 22, 2006
- ^ Don Sutton - baseball-reference.com
- ^ a b c "Notes: Talent is sometimes tough to evaluate" - Washington Nationals-MLB - April 22, 2007
- ^ "National High School Hall of Fame" - National Federation of State High School Associations
- ^ "In This Issue" - Gulf Coast Traveler Magazine - Second Issue-Volume 2, Issue 1
- ^ Nationals Talent - MASN -September 7, 2007
[edit] See also
- List of Washington Nationals broadcasters
- List of Atlanta Braves broadcasters
- 300 win club
- 3000 strikeout club
- List of Major League Baseball leaders in career wins
- List of Major League Baseball ERA champions
- Top 100 strikeout pitchers of all time
[edit] External links
- Career statistics and player information from Baseball-Reference, or The Baseball Cube
- baseballhalloffame.org – Hall of Fame biography page
| Preceded by Bill Singer |
Los Angeles Dodgers Opening Day Starting pitcher 1972-1978 |
Succeeded by Burt Hooton |
| Preceded by Joe Torre |
Major League Player of the Month April, 1972 |
Succeeded by Bob Watson |
| Preceded by Johnny Bench |
Lou Gehrig Memorial Award 1976 |
Succeeded by Lou Brock |
| Preceded by George Foster |
Major League Baseball All-Star Game Most Valuable Player 1977 |
Succeeded by Steve Garvey |
| Preceded by J.R. Richard |
National League ERA Champion 1980 |
Succeeded by Nolan Ryan |
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