Don Sutton, baseball player, 1966-1988

Don Sutton

⭐ Hall of Fame 1998

Born: 4/2/1945 in Clio, AL, USA

Died: 1/18/2021 in Rancho Mirage, CA, USA

MLB Debut: 1966-04-14 | Final Game: 1988-08-09

Bats: R | Throws: R | Height: 6'1" | Weight: 185 lbs

Full name: Donald Howard Sutton

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Biography

Don Sutton, born in 1945, was a dominant right-handed pitcher whose career spanned from 1966 to 1988. Known for his exceptional control and durability, Sutton concluded his impressive career with a record of 324 wins and 256 losses, alongside a 3.26 earned run average (ERA). Over his 23 seasons in Major League Baseball, he accumulated a remarkable total of 3,574 strikeouts, showcasing his ability to overpower hitters while also being an adept strategist on the mound. In addition to his wins, he recorded five saves, highlighting his versatility as a pitcher. Sutton's contributions to the game were recognized with numerous accolades, including being named the TSN Rookie Pitcher of the Year and the All-Star Game MVP during his career. He was selected to the All-Star Game four times and was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1998, cementing his legacy as one of the great pitchers of his era. Playing during a time that saw the evolution of pitching styles and strategies, Sutton’s consistency and longevity made him a revered figure in baseball history, influencing future generations of pitchers.

Career Pitching Statistics

W L G GS CG SHO SV IP H ER HR BB SO ERA Pitcher PIV
324 256 774 756 178 58 5 5282.3 4692 1914 472 1343 3574 3.26 0

Career ERA 3.26 vs. league average 3.72 across their career seasons — 12.4% better than 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
1966 LAD NL 12 12 37 35 6 2 0 225.7 192 75 52 209 2.99 3.52 (+15%) -
1967 LAD NL 11 15 37 34 11 3 1 232.7 223 102 57 169 3.95 3.30 (-19%) -
1968 LAD NL 11 15 35 27 7 2 1 207.7 179 60 59 162 2.60 2.98 (+13%) -
1969 LAD NL 17 18 41 41 11 4 0 293.3 269 113 91 217 3.47 3.61 (+4%) -
1970 LAD NL 15 13 38 38 10 4 0 260.3 251 118 78 201 4.08 3.89 (-5%) -
1971 LAD NL 17 12 38 37 12 4 1 265.3 231 75 55 194 2.54 3.47 (+27%) -
1972 LAD NL 19 9 33 33 18 9 0 272.7 186 63 63 207 2.08 3.26 (+36%) -
1973 LAD NL 18 10 33 33 14 3 0 256.3 196 69 56 200 2.42 3.75 (+35%) -
1974 LAD NL 19 9 40 40 10 5 0 276.0 241 99 80 179 3.23 3.63 (+11%) -
1975 LAD NL 16 13 35 35 11 4 0 254.3 202 81 62 175 2.87 3.71 (+23%) -
1976 LAD NL 21 10 35 34 15 4 0 267.7 231 91 82 161 3.06 3.51 (+13%) -
1977 LAD NL 14 8 33 33 9 3 0 240.3 207 85 69 150 3.18 4.00 (+20%) -
1978 LAD NL 15 11 34 34 12 2 0 238.3 228 94 54 154 3.55 3.69 (+4%) -
1979 LAD NL 12 15 33 32 6 1 1 226.0 201 96 61 146 3.82 4.00 (+4%) -
1980 LAD NL 13 5 32 31 4 2 1 212.3 163 52 47 128 2.20 3.84 (+43%) -
1981 HOU NL 11 9 23 23 6 3 0 158.7 132 46 29 104 2.61 3.58 (+27%) 5060.3
1982 HOU NL 13 8 27 27 4 0 0 195.0 169 65 46 139 3.00 3.86 (+22%) 5994.7
1982 ATL AL 4 1 7 7 2 1 0 54.7 55 20 18 36 3.29 3.86 (+15%) -
1983 ATL AL 8 13 31 31 4 0 0 220.3 209 100 54 134 4.08 3.87 (-5%) -
1984 ATL AL 14 12 33 33 1 0 0 212.7 224 89 51 143 3.77 3.81 (+1%) -
1985 OAK AL 13 8 29 29 1 1 0 194.3 194 84 51 91 3.89 3.89 (avg) 441.4
1985 LAA AL 2 2 5 5 0 0 0 31.7 27 13 8 16 3.69 3.89 (+5%) -
1986 LAA AL 15 11 34 34 3 1 0 207.0 192 86 49 116 3.74 3.97 (+6%) -
1987 LAA AL 11 11 35 34 1 0 0 191.7 199 100 41 99 4.70 4.29 (-9%) -
1988 LAD NL 3 6 16 16 0 0 0 87.3 91 38 30 44 3.92 3.73 (-5%) -

Career Batting Statistics

G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB BB SO AVG OBP SLG OPS PIV
785 1354 64 195 15 1 0 64 1 60 365 0.144 0.183 0.157 0.340 -10989.6

Career AVG .144 vs. league average .256 across their career seasons — 43.7% below league average.

Career OBP .183 vs. league average .322 across their career seasons — 43.0% below league average.

Career SLG .157 vs. league average .380 across their career seasons — 58.8% below league average.

Career OPS 0.340 vs. league average 0.701 across their career seasons — 51.5% 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
1966 LAD NL 38 82 4 15 2 0 0 2 0 1 27 0.183 .248 (-26%) .309 (-35%) .376 (-45%) .685 (-40%) -533.4
1967 LAD NL 43 75 4 10 2 0 0 4 0 2 24 0.133 .242 (-45%) .306 (-49%) .357 (-55%) .663 (-52%) -629.5
1968 LAD NL 36 62 3 11 0 0 0 3 0 2 22 0.177 .236 (-25%) .298 (-34%) .340 (-48%) .638 (-41%) -406.3
1969 LAD NL 41 98 6 15 0 0 0 3 0 0 28 0.153 .248 (-38%) .320 (-50%) .369 (-59%) .689 (-54%) -873.7
1970 LAD NL 40 84 6 13 2 1 0 6 1 10 22 0.155 .253 (-39%) .325 (-22%) .385 (-47%) .711 (-36%) -498.1
1971 LAD NL 39 88 4 19 2 0 0 7 0 3 18 0.216 .249 (-13%) .316 (-24%) .365 (-35%) .682 (-30%) -423.6
1972 LAD NL 33 91 4 13 0 0 0 1 0 2 24 0.143 .243 (-41%) .310 (-45%) .353 (-60%) .664 (-53%) -748.2
1973 LAD NL 33 84 6 10 1 0 0 5 0 5 17 0.119 .256 (-54%) .325 (-49%) .378 (-65%) .703 (-58%) -811.6
1974 LAD NL 40 98 7 18 2 0 0 7 0 3 22 0.184 .256 (-28%) .324 (-33%) .369 (-45%) .693 (-39%) -637.5
1975 LAD NL 35 80 4 11 1 0 0 3 0 4 20 0.138 .257 (-47%) .327 (-45%) .374 (-60%) .701 (-53%) -702.2
1976 LAD NL 35 84 2 7 1 0 0 3 0 6 19 0.083 .255 (-67%) .320 (-55%) .360 (-74%) .681 (-65%) -873.2
1977 LAD NL 33 73 3 11 2 0 0 8 0 8 21 0.151 .264 (-43%) .329 (-29%) .401 (-56%) .730 (-43%) -527.9
1978 LAD NL 34 72 1 6 0 0 0 3 0 4 22 0.083 .257 (-68%) .323 (-59%) .378 (-78%) .702 (-69%) -819.4
1979 LAD NL 33 77 2 11 0 0 0 3 0 1 17 0.143 .265 (-46%) .329 (-53%) .397 (-64%) .727 (-59%) -767.2
1980 LAD NL 32 64 3 5 0 0 0 1 0 1 19 0.078 .264 (-70%) .326 (-72%) .387 (-80%) .714 (-76%) -807.9
1981 HOU NL 23 51 1 7 0 0 0 3 0 5 12 0.137 .255 (-46%) .320 (-29%) .368 (-63%) .688 (-47%) -362.8
1982 HOU NL 27 68 3 11 0 0 0 1 0 2 25 0.162 .261 (-38%) .324 (-43%) .388 (-58%) .712 (-51%) -567.5
1982 ATL AL 7 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 — — — — -567.5
1983 ATL AL 31 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 — — — — 0.0
1984 ATL AL 33 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 — — — — 0.0
1985 OAK AL 29 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 — — — — 0.0
1985 LAA AL 5 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 — — — — 0.0
1986 LAA AL 34 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 — — — — 0.0
1987 LAA AL 35 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 — — — — 0.0
1988 LAD NL 16 23 1 2 0 0 0 1 0 1 6 0.087 — — — — 0.0

Postseason Statistics

Playoff Career Batting

G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO AVG
15 20 0 2 0 0 0 1 2 10 0.100

Playoff Batting by Year

Year Round Team G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO AVG
1986 ALCS CAL 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
1982 ALCS ML4 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
1982 WS ML4 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
1978 NLCS LAN 1 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0.000
1978 WS LAN 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
1977 NLCS LAN 1 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0.000
1977 WS LAN 2 6 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 4 0.000
1974 NLCS LAN 2 6 0 2 0 0 0 1 1 2 0.333
1974 WS LAN 2 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0.000

Playoff Career Pitching

W L G GS SV IP H ER BB SO ERA
6 4 15 14 0 100.3 92 41 16 61 3.68

Playoff Pitching by Year

Year Round Team W L G GS SV IP H ER BB SO ERA
1986 ALCS CAL 0 0 2 1 0 9.7 6 2 1 4 1.86
1982 ALCS ML4 1 0 1 1 0 7.7 8 3 2 9 3.52
1982 WS ML4 0 1 2 2 0 10.3 12 9 1 5 7.84
1978 NLCS LAN 0 1 1 1 0 5.7 7 4 2 0 6.35
1978 WS LAN 0 2 2 2 0 12.0 17 10 4 8 7.50
1977 NLCS LAN 1 0 1 1 0 9.0 9 1 0 4 1.00
1977 WS LAN 1 0 2 2 0 16.0 17 7 1 6 3.94
1974 NLCS LAN 2 0 2 2 0 17.0 7 1 2 13 0.53
1974 WS LAN 1 0 2 2 0 13.0 9 4 3 12 2.77

Fielding Statistics

Career Fielding Totals by Position

Position G GS PO A E DP
P 774 756 334 613 31 42

Season-by-Season Fielding

Year Team Pos G GS PO A E DP
1966 LAN P 37 35 8 32 2 3
1967 LAN P 37 34 7 31 1 2
1968 LAN P 35 27 12 25 1 0
1969 LAN P 41 41 19 43 1 3
1970 LAN P 38 38 21 28 3 1
1971 LAN P 38 37 27 26 2 5
1972 LAN P 33 33 18 34 1 2
1973 LAN P 33 33 12 34 1 2
1974 LAN P 40 40 17 33 0 1
1975 LAN P 35 35 24 25 2 0
1976 LAN P 35 34 5 31 1 2
1977 LAN P 33 33 15 29 1 3
1978 LAN P 34 34 13 23 0 2
1979 LAN P 33 32 16 24 1 2
1980 LAN P 32 31 24 25 2 3
1981 HOU P 23 23 11 24 2 3
1982 HOU P 27 27 16 20 1 2
1982 ML4 P 7 7 6 8 0 1
1983 ML4 P 31 31 13 23 1 1
1984 ML4 P 33 33 11 19 1 1
1985 OAK P 29 29 7 31 4 1
1985 CAL P 5 5 1 1 0 0
1986 CAL P 34 34 18 14 2 1
1987 CAL P 35 34 8 18 0 1
1988 LAN P 16 16 5 12 1 0

Career Games by Position

Position Games
Pitcher 774

Awards & Honors

Year Award Notes
1986 Player of the Week Week of 1986-06-20
1980 Player of the Week Week of 1980-04-25
1977 All-Star Game MVP
1976 Lou Gehrig Memorial Award
1976 Pitcher of the Month September
1976 Player of the Week Week of 1976-09-24
1976 TSN All-Star RHP
1975 Pitcher of the Month April
1975 Pitcher of the Month May
1975 Player of the Week Week of 1975-08-08
1966 TSN Rookie Pitcher of the Year

Salary History

Year Team League Salary
1988 LAN NL $350,000
1987 CAL AL $890,000
1986 CAL AL $890,000
1985 CAL AL $750,000
Total Career Earnings $2,880,000

College History

School Name City State Years Attended
Gulf Coast Community College Panama City FL 1965

Award Voting History

Year Award League Finish Points Won Points Max Votes First
1976 Cy Young Award NL 3rd 25.0 120 1
1976 Most Valuable Player NL 22th 7.0 336 0
1975 Cy Young Award NL 5th 1.0 120 0
1974 Cy Young Award NL 4th 12.0 120 1
1973 Cy Young Award NL 5th 7.0 120 0
1972 Cy Young Award NL 5th 6.0 120 0