Don Sutton
Don Sutton's career was not one of dominance, but of quiet consistency, with 21 seasons of double-digit wins and triple-digit strikeouts, but only a couple of instances of leading the league in any category during his career.
Sutton reached the majors in 1966 with the LA Dodgers, and he was very good as a rookie, recording 209 strikeouts, the most by any rookie in 55 years. While he never led the league in strikeouts, he surpassed 200 K's 5 times, finished in the top ten 14 times, and is #7 all-time in strikeouts in league history.
In the early 1970's, he had 5 straight seasons in which he finished among the top 5 in Cy Young voting, getting as high as third place when he set a career high with 21 wins in 1976. He led the league with 9 shutouts in 1972, and also had the most starts in 1974 with 40.
The Dodgers reached 3 World Series in the 1970's, but lost in all 3 appearances. In 1974, they lost to the Athletics in 5 games, with Sutton recording the only win for the Dodgers, in addition to the two wins he had recorded in the NLCS. He also won a game against the Yankees in the 1977 World Series, but went 0-3 in his 3 postseason appearances in 1978.
Sutton led the league with a 2.20 ERA in 1980, and over the next 7 years Sutton bounced from Houston to Milwaukee to Oakland and finally to the Angels, before returning to the Dodgers for one final season with the team where he spent his first 15 seasons. He was released in August of 1988, just months before the Dodgers finally won a World Series.
Sutton's career was far from spectacular, but he was a very good pitcher who maintained a high level of play for a very long time. He pitched in 4 World Series, starting out great in his first appearance, but slowly going downhill in each subsequent appearance. He never won an MVP, Cy Young, or World Series, but he is a Hall of Famer, and his longevity at an All-Star level is what earned him a spot on the list of the all-time greats.
No comments:
Post a Comment