Don Sutton

At 79 years old, Don Sutton has this physical status:

Donald Howard Sutton (born April 2, 1945) is an American former professional baseball player.

He was a right-handed pitcher in Major League Baseball (MLB).

He appeared in 23 major league seasons, including the Los Angeles Dodgers, Houston Astros, Milwaukee Brewers, Oakland Athletics, and California Angels.

He played in a total of 324 games, 58 of which were shutouts and five of them one-hitters, and five of them were one-hitters, and five of them were hitters, five of whom were single-hitters, and five of them were no. 1, and he is seventh on baseball's all-time strikeout list with 3,574. Sutton was born in Clio, Alabama.

Before deciding on professional baseball, he attended high school and community college in Florida.

Sutton joined the Dodgers after a year in the minor leagues.

He was part of the team's starting pitching rotation with Sandy Koufax, Don Drysdale, and Claude Osteen, beginning in 1966.

Sutton's 23 MLB seasons were spent with the Dodgers.

He had only one 20-win season, but he had two-digit victories in nearly every season. Since he was barred from broadcasting as a player, Sutton began broadcasting.

He has been with many organizations, the majority of which was with the Atlanta Braves.

In 1998, he was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame.

Early life

Sutton was born in Clio, Alabama, a small town in Barbour County, on April 2, 1945, the same day as future Dodger teammate Reggie Smith. In a tarpaper shack, he was born to sharecroppers at the end of World War II. At the time Sutton was born, his father was 18 years old and his mother was 15, and his mother was 15. Howard Sutton, Sutton's father, instills in him a strong work ethic that he carried throughout his career. His father tried logging and building work, but he lost interest in looking for jobs and moved his family to Molino, Florida, just north of Pensacola. Sutton and his family were Evangelical Christians.

Sutton played baseball, basketball, and football at J. M. Tate High School, where he competed baseball, basketball, and football. He led his baseball team to the small-school state finals two years in a row, winning his junior year, 1962, and losing 2–1 in his senior year, and all-state for both of those seasons. He graduated in 1963 and was named "Most Likely to Succeed." He wanted to attend the University of Florida but coach Dave Fuller was not interested. He attended Gulf Coast Community College, Panama City, for a year, and then Whittier College. He was signed by the Dodgers after a good summer league.

Personal life

Sutton was an avid golfer and wine enthusiast who often made mention of those interests in broadcasting. Sutton has worked in broadcasting golf as well as acting as a pre- and post-game analyst for NBC's coverage of the 1983 and 1987 American League Championship Series. Sutton began his work as a color commentator on NBC's coverage of the 1979 National League Championship Series. Daron's uncle, Daron, was a play-by-play broadcaster for the Los Angeles Angels. Daron has previously called play-by-play for the Milwaukee Brewers and Arizona Diamondbacks.

Sutton died of cancer at his home in Rancho Mirage, California, on January 19, 2021.

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MLB playing career

Sutton, who played for the Sioux Falls Packers in South Dakota, made his way into the major leagues at 21. Greg Maddux, the future co-game champion, made his big league debut with the Dodgers on April 14, 1966, the same day that future fellow 300-game winner Greg Maddux was born. Sutton was the fourth starting pitcher for a rotation featuring Sandy Koufax, Don Drysdale, and Claude Osteen on the 1966 Dodgers. He struck out 209 batters in the season's most strikeout total for a rookie since 1911. In Game 4 of the 1966 World Series, Sutton was passed over, giving Don Drysdale a second shot. Despite the fact that the Baltimore Orioles did not start a rookie in the World Series, future Hall of Famer Jim Palmer, Sutton did not pitch, and the Dodgers were swept in four games by the Orioles.

In the 1970s, Sutton was chosen to attend the Major League Baseball All-Star Game four times. After winning 102 games during the regular season, the 1974 Dodgers made the postseason. In the playoffs, they beat the Pittsburgh Pirates, and Sutton was responsible for two of the team's three victories. The team lost the 1974 World Series four games to one, with Sutton winning the team's first game. Sutton's 1976-1996 was his best major league season, finishing the year with a 21-10 victory-loss record. He was the National League's starting pitcher and MVP of the 1977 Major League All-Star Game at Yankee Stadium. In the 1977 playoffs, he won a complete game, followed by a 1–0 record in two appearances in the World Series, which the team lost to the Yankees.

After a physical altercation with teammate Steve Garvey in August 1978, Sutton attracted media attention. Sutton had sluggish media attention paid to Garvey, saying that Reggie Smith was actually the team's best player. The men came to blows after Garvey confronted Sutton about the remarks before a game against the Mets, and they had to be separated by teammates and team leaders. The team made its way back to the postseason this year. Sutton had a 15-11 record in the regular season, but he struggled in the playoffs after the Dodgers lost the World Series to New York. Sutton's earned runs were down 14 runs in 17 out-of-season innings this year.

Sutton was a free agent in Los Angeles until the 1980s. He set a new record for career victories during his time in Los Angeles.

Sutton was chosen by ten teams from the 1980 free agent re-entry draft. Both the Yankees and Astros ruled him, but Houston ultimately chosen Houston. Sutton will be able to play in the pitcher-friendly Astrodome, which was one of Houston's favorites.

Sutton won seven victories and one loss after the 1981 player strike ended the season on March 31, 1981. Sutton sustained a patellar fracture in a game against the Dodgers on October 2, ending his season just as the Astros were about to secure a spot in the NL playoffs.

Sutton expressed his desire to return to play in Southern California, where he continued to live. Kevin Bass, Frank DiPino, and Mike Madden were not able to accommodate his request, so the Astros sent Sutton to the Milwaukee Brewers in August for Kevin Bass, Frank DiPino, and Mike Madden. Ray Knight, the Astros' first reaction to the trade is disbelief," he said. I'm not sure who we're getting, but I would expect Don Sutton to have a huge name, rather than a generic one. Here's a guy who's going to win you 15-20 games every year, and he never misses a start... He should definitely assist the Brewers." Sutton won a 1982 playoff match against the Angels in 1982, and the St. Louis Cardinals continued their play in the 1982 World Series. He pitched ten innings in the series, gave up nine earned runs, and was suspended with one loss.

Sutton's 1983 was his worst full season total to date, with only 8 wins, his lowest single season total to date, and his second best performance of his career. In 1984, his record and ERA soared to 14–12, 3.77.

In 1985, Sutton was traded to the Oakland Athletics in exchange for Ray Burris. He was reluctant to join the team because he was hoping to play for a franchise in Southern California so he could live at home with his family. Sutton was actually scheduled to Oakland 12 days late for spring training. He said he had his family's blessing in the decision, and he cited his win total – he was 20 wins shy of 300 in career – as a factor in the decision. Sutton was traded to the California Angels in September after starting the season with a 13–8 record. In return, the Angels will welcome two minor league players named later to Oakland, Robert Sharpnack, and Jerome Nelson.

Sutton had 295 career victories going into the 1986 season. He struggled early in the season, posting a 9.12 ERA in his first five starts, but winning his 300th game against the Texas Rangers on June 18, which saw him throwing out three runs and one run in a complete game against the Texas Rangers, which saw out Gary Ward for the final out of the game. He appeared in two games in the 1986 ALCS against the Boston Red Sox, a 1.86 ERA but two no-decisions were recorded.

Sutton continued his career where he had started by joining the Dodgers in 1988, where he began his career with the Dodgers. Sutton had played for five different teams in his first eight seasons, going from 1966 to 1980. Angels pitcher John Candelaria chastised him for alerting police that Candelaria was inebriated the previous year, resulting in one of Candelaria's two 1987 drunk driving arrests. Sutton said he made the report out of concern for Candelaria's safety, but Candelaria said Sutton was engaged in "self-preservation" and attempting to have Candelaria removed from the Angels' starting rotation because Sutton was not pitching well.

In August 1988, Sutton talked with Astros team members about a vacancy as a team's assistant general manager. Fred Claire, the Dodgers' executive vice president, said Sutton broke league rules by discussing such a position while under contract with a club, but Sutton said he ran into Astros general manager Bill Wood at a game and expressed his willingness to discuss the position later. On August 10, the team announced him on August 10. Claire said that Sutton's stamina was a major factor in the move, as the team was searching for pitchers who could play more than six innings per start.

Sutton has the most at-bats without a home run (1,354). Sutton holds another record: nine scoreless innings in seven out of a row but received a no-decision. He also set the most consecutive losses to one team (13 to the Chicago Cubs), setting a record for the most consecutive losses to one team (13 to the Chicago Cubs). Sutton also holds the Dodger franchise record for wins (233), and he managed to hold the strikeouts record (2,696) for 42 years until being defeated by Clayton Kershaw in 2022.

Sutton, a hitter, was about average as pitchers go, with 64 runs batted in and 60 walks. He was offensively above average, with a.968 fielding percentage that was 15 points higher than the league average at his age.

Broadcasting career

Sutton began his broadcasting career in 1989, dividing his time between Dodgers cable telecasts on Z Channel and Atlanta Braves telecasts on TBS.

He became a full-time analyst for the Braves in the following year. Sutton was diagnosed with kidney disease in 2002, resulting in the removal of his left kidney. While recovering from cancer treatment, he continued his broadcasting career. He left TBS after the 2006 season, mainly because the network would air fewer games in 2007 and had to reduce the number of broadcasters.

Sutton appeared on the MASN network during the 2007 and 2008 seasons as a color commentator for the Washington Nationals. Sutton had two years left on his Nationals contract, but when an Atlanta Braves radio job opened up, he negotiated his release on January 27, 2009 in order to return to Atlanta, where he had many ties. Jim Powell, the Braves Radio Network's most recent broadcaster, was his most recent broadcast partner. Due to a fractured femur, Sutton missed the 2019 season.

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