Rick Sutcliffe, baseball player, 1976-1994

Rick Sutcliffe

Born: 6/21/1956 in Independence, MO, USA

MLB Debut: 1976-09-29 | Final Game: 1994-07-22

Bats: L | Throws: R | Height: 6'7" | Weight: 215 lbs

Full name: Richard Lee Sutcliffe

📊 Compare This Player 📈 View Career Timeline

Biography

Rick Sutcliffe was a prominent pitcher in Major League Baseball, known for his distinctive style and competitive spirit during his career from 1976 to 1994. Born in 1956, Sutcliffe made an immediate impact in the league, earning the Rookie of the Year award in his debut season. Throughout his career, he showcased his talent on the mound with a record of 171 wins and 139 losses, an earned run average (ERA) of 4.08, and a total of 1,679 strikeouts. He also contributed to his teams with 6 saves, demonstrating his versatility as a pitcher. Sutcliffe garnered significant recognition for his performance, earning the TSN Rookie Pitcher of the Year award and winning the prestigious Cy Young Award during the peak of his career. His efforts were further acknowledged with three All-Star selections, highlighting his status as one of the top pitchers of his era. Known for his powerful fastball and impressive curveball, Sutcliffe's contributions to the game extended beyond his statistics; he was a key figure in the evolution of pitching strategies during the late 20th century. His legacy remains a testament to his skill and determination, making him a memorable figure in baseball history.

Career Pitching Statistics

W L G GS CG SHO SV IP H ER HR BB SO ERA Pitcher PIV
171 139 457 392 72 18 6 2697.7 2662 1223 236 1081 1679 4.08 0

Career ERA 4.08 vs. league average 3.89 across their career seasons — near league average.

Season-by-Season Pitching

Year Team Lg W L G GS CG SHO SV IP H ER BB SO ERA Lg ERA Pitcher PIV
1976 LAD NL 0 0 1 1 0 0 0 5.0 2 0 1 3 0.00 — -
1978 LAD NL 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 1.7 2 0 1 0 0.00 — -
1979 LAD NL 17 10 39 30 5 1 0 242.0 217 93 97 117 3.46 4.00 (+14%) -
1980 LAD NL 3 9 42 10 1 1 5 110.0 122 68 55 59 5.56 3.84 (-45%) -
1981 LAD NL 2 2 14 6 0 0 0 47.0 41 21 20 16 4.02 3.58 (-12%) -
1982 CLE AL 14 8 34 27 6 1 1 216.0 174 71 98 142 2.96 3.86 (+23%) 459.9
1983 CLE AL 17 11 36 35 10 2 0 243.3 251 116 102 160 4.29 3.87 (-11%) -816.9
1984 CLE AL 4 5 15 15 2 0 0 94.3 111 54 46 58 5.15 3.81 (-35%) -525.8
1984 CHC NL 16 1 20 20 7 3 0 150.3 123 45 39 155 2.69 3.81 (+29%) -
1985 CHC NL 8 8 20 20 6 3 0 130.0 119 46 44 102 3.18 3.89 (+18%) -
1986 CHC NL 5 14 28 27 4 1 0 176.7 166 91 96 122 4.64 3.97 (-17%) -
1987 CHC NL 18 10 34 34 6 1 0 237.3 223 97 106 174 3.68 4.29 (+14%) -
1988 CHC NL 13 14 32 32 12 2 0 226.0 232 97 70 144 3.86 3.73 (-3%) -
1989 CHC NL 16 11 35 34 5 1 0 229.0 202 93 69 153 3.66 3.71 (+2%) -
1990 CHC NL 0 2 5 5 0 0 0 21.3 25 14 12 7 5.91 3.86 (-53%) -
1991 CHC NL 6 5 19 18 0 0 0 96.7 96 44 45 52 4.10 3.91 (-5%) -
1992 BAL AL 16 15 36 36 5 2 0 237.3 251 118 74 109 4.47 3.75 (-19%) -1484.4
1993 BAL AL 10 10 29 28 3 0 0 166.0 212 106 74 80 5.75 4.19 (-37%) -4638.8
1994 STL NL 6 4 16 14 0 0 0 67.7 93 49 32 26 6.52 4.51 (-44%) -

Career Batting Statistics

G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB BB SO AVG OBP SLG OPS PIV
466 562 42 102 22 1 4 55 4 34 143 0.181 0.229 0.246 0.474 -2180.9

Career AVG .181 vs. league average .260 across their career seasons — 30.1% below league average.

Career OBP .229 vs. league average .325 across their career seasons — 29.6% below league average.

Career SLG .246 vs. league average .388 across their career seasons — 36.7% below league average.

Career OPS 0.474 vs. league average 0.713 across their career seasons — 33.5% below league average.

Season-by-Season Batting

Year Team Lg G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB BB SO AVG Lg AVG Lg OBP Lg SLG Lg OPS PIV
1976 LAD NL 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0.000 — — — — 0.0
1978 LAD NL 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 — — — — 0.0
1979 LAD NL 40 85 6 21 3 0 1 17 0 1 20 0.247 .265 (-7%) .329 (-23%) .397 (-20%) .727 (-22%) -335.4
1980 LAD NL 44 27 1 4 0 0 0 3 0 2 5 0.148 — — — — 0.0
1981 LAD NL 14 11 2 2 0 0 0 2 0 2 3 0.182 — — — — 0.0
1982 CLE AL 34 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 — — — — 0.0
1983 CLE AL 36 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 — — — — 0.0
1984 CLE AL 15 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 — — — — 0.0
1984 CHC NL 20 56 3 14 3 0 0 6 0 2 18 0.250 .259 (-4%) .322 (-15%) .384 (-21%) .707 (-18%) 0.0
1985 CHC NL 20 43 4 10 0 0 1 3 0 2 10 0.233 — — — — 0.0
1986 CHC NL 29 53 3 11 2 0 1 4 0 2 13 0.208 .257 (-19%) .325 (-23%) .395 (-24%) .720 (-23%) -210.7
1987 CHC NL 35 81 8 12 5 1 0 6 1 7 19 0.148 .262 (-44%) .331 (-36%) .415 (-44%) .746 (-40%) -592.9
1988 CHC NL 33 75 8 12 5 0 1 6 1 3 18 0.160 .254 (-37%) .317 (-38%) .377 (-29%) .695 (-33%) -445.8
1989 CHC NL 37 70 5 10 2 0 0 5 2 10 19 0.143 .254 (-44%) .319 (-22%) .375 (-54%) .694 (-39%) -429.1
1990 CHC NL 5 5 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 2 0.000 — — — — 0.0
1991 CHC NL 20 32 2 3 1 0 0 2 0 1 9 0.094 — — — — 0.0
1992 BAL AL 36 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 — — — — 0.0
1993 BAL AL 29 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 — — — — 0.0
1994 STL NL 16 23 0 3 1 0 0 1 0 0 6 0.130 — — — — 0.0

Postseason Statistics

Playoff Career Batting

G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO AVG
3 8 1 4 1 0 1 1 0 2 0.500

Playoff Batting by Year

Year Round Team G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO AVG
1989 NLCS CHN 1 2 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0.500
1984 NLCS CHN 2 6 1 3 0 0 1 1 0 2 0.500

Playoff Career Pitching

W L G GS SV IP H ER BB SO ERA
1 1 3 3 0 19.3 14 8 12 12 3.72

Playoff Pitching by Year

Year Round Team W L G GS SV IP H ER BB SO ERA
1989 NLCS CHN 0 0 1 1 0 6.0 5 3 4 2 4.50
1984 NLCS CHN 1 1 2 2 0 13.3 9 5 8 10 3.38

Fielding Statistics

Career Fielding Totals by Position

Position G GS PO A E DP
P 457 392 211 404 17 25

Season-by-Season Fielding

Year Team Pos G GS PO A E DP
1976 LAN P 1 1 0 0 0 0
1978 LAN P 2 0 0 1 0 1
1979 LAN P 39 30 18 24 0 1
1980 LAN P 42 10 6 13 0 0
1981 LAN P 14 6 6 8 0 0
1982 CLE P 34 27 14 32 1 1
1983 CLE P 36 35 36 29 0 1
1984 CLE P 15 15 7 11 1 1
1984 CHN P 20 20 12 24 1 0
1985 CHN P 20 20 12 23 1 0
1986 CHN P 28 27 8 30 1 4
1987 CHN P 34 34 12 54 4 4
1988 CHN P 32 32 21 37 3 2
1989 CHN P 35 34 22 31 1 3
1990 CHN P 5 5 2 5 0 0
1991 CHN P 19 18 10 12 0 2
1992 BAL P 36 36 11 24 3 2
1993 BAL P 29 28 9 30 1 2
1994 SLN P 16 14 5 16 0 1

Career Games by Position

Position Games
Pitcher 457

Awards & Honors

Year Award Notes
1992 TSN Comeback Player of the Year
1989 Player of the Week Week of 1989-04-08
1987 Lou Gehrig Memorial Award
1987 Roberto Clemente Award
1987 TSN All-Star RHP
1987 TSN Comeback Player of the Year
1987 TSN Pitcher of the Year
1984 Cy Young Award
1984 Pitcher of the Month August
1984 TSN All-Star RHP
1984 TSN Pitcher of the Year
1982 Pitcher of the Month September
1979 Rookie of the Year
1979 TSN Rookie Pitcher of the Year

Salary History

Year Team League Salary
1994 SLN NL $250,000
1993 BAL AL $2,500,000
1992 BAL AL $2,400,000
1991 CHN NL $2,275,000
1990 CHN NL $1,925,000
1989 CHN NL $2,340,000
1988 CHN NL $2,070,000
1987 CHN NL $1,800,000
1986 CHN NL $1,530,000
1985 CHN NL $1,260,000
Total Career Earnings $18,350,000

Award Voting History

Year Award League Finish Points Won Points Max Votes First
1987 Cy Young Award NL 2nd 55.0 120 4
1984 Cy Young Award NL 1st 120.0 120 24
1984 Most Valuable Player NL 4th 151.0 336 0
1982 Cy Young Award AL 5th 14.0 140 1
1982 Most Valuable Player AL 32th 1.0 392 0
1979 Rookie of the Year NL 1st 20.0 24 20