Don Sutton | |
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Pitcher | |
Born: Clio, Alabama, U.S. | April 2, 1945|
Died: January 19, 2021 Rancho Mirage, California, U.S. | (aged 75)|
Batted: Right Threw: Right | |
MLB debut | |
April 14, 1966, for the Los Angeles Dodgers | |
Last MLB appearance | |
August 9, 1988, for the Los Angeles Dodgers | |
MLB statistics | |
Win–loss record | 324–256 |
Earned run average | 3.26 |
Strikeouts | 3,574 |
Stats at Baseball Reference | |
Teams | |
Career highlights and awards | |
| |
Member of the National | |
Baseball Hall of Fame | |
Induction | 1998 |
Vote | 81.6% (fifth ballot) |
Donald Howard Sutton (April 2, 1945 – January 19, 2021) was an American professional baseball pitcher who played 23 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB), primarily for the Los Angeles Dodgers. Sutton won a total of 324 games, pitched 58 shutouts including five one-hitters and ten two-hitters, and led the National League in walks plus hits per inning pitched (WHIP) four times. He is seventh on baseball's all-time strikeout list with 3,574.[1]
Sutton was born in Clio, Alabama. He attended high school and community college in Florida before entering professional baseball. After a year in the minor leagues, Sutton joined the Dodgers. Beginning in 1966, he was in the team's starting pitching rotation with Sandy Koufax, Don Drysdale, and Claude Osteen. Sixteen of Sutton's 23 MLB seasons were spent with the Dodgers. He spent much of the 1980s with the Houston Astros, the Milwaukee Brewers, the Oakland Athletics and the California Angels, before returning for a second stint with the Dodgers. He registered only one 20-win season, but earned 10 or more wins in every season except 1983 and 1988.
Sutton became a television sports broadcaster after his retirement as a player. He worked in this capacity for several teams, the majority being with the Atlanta Braves. Sutton was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1998.[2]