HALL OF FAME CANDIDATE
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Don Sutton
Starting Pitcher
St. Louis Maroons (MAN, CHI)
1966-1980
The third overall pick of the 1966 draft, Don Sutton bolted out of
the gate with a 23-win, 230-strikeout rookie campaign that earned
him Rookie of the Year. The following year, "Black and Decker"
trimmed his ERA to 3.08, and in 1968 he posted a 17-6 record, as
the Maroons had their first of two back-to-back 90-win seasons.
After a stellar start (0.81 ERA in 6 starts), Sutton's 1969 campaign
was cut short by a shoulder injury, but at age 24, he would earn his
first World Series ring. After a lackluster 1972 season, Sutton was
traded to Manhattan, where he became a staple of the Gray Sox
rotation into their early dynasty years. Over five seasons, he
averaged 33 starts, 15 wins, nine complete games, and 191
strikeouts, and helped lead the Sox to league titles in 1976 and
1977. He ended his career with two years in Chicago's rotation
and one in the bullpen.
Sutton was born to teenage sharecroppers in a tarpaper shack in Clio, Alabama in the waning days of World War II. Looking for logging and construction work, his father moved the family to Florida, where Don excelled in baseball, basketball, and football at J.M. Tate High School. He graduated in 1963 and was voted "Most Likely to Succeed." He made his major league debut on April 14, 1966, the same day Greg Maddux was born. Often accused of scuffing the ball, Sutton once famously quipped, when asked if he put a foreign substance on the baseball, "Not true at all. Vaseline is manufactured right here in the United States of America."
Throughout his 15-year career, Black and Decker was known as a workhorse. Ten times he pitched more than 200 innings, including an amazing 303 innings during his Rookie of the Year campaign. Though his ERAs were never excellent, he was known for keeping the ball in the park and giving his team a chance to win. His .562 winning percentage came on mostly losing teams, and his 186 wins ranks him 21st all-time. (TJS)
AWARDS & ACCOLADES
Rookie of the Year (1966)
Win Champion (1966)
4-time Pitcher of the Month
CAREER RANKINGS (as of 1989)
#21 in Wins
#28 in Strikeouts
#30 in Innings Pitched
#31 in WAR
#33 in Complete Games
#33 in Games Started
#45 in Winning Percentage
REGULAR SEASON
Year Team Age G GS W L SV ERA IP HA R ER HR BB K CG SHO WHIP WAR
1966 St. Louis 21 38 38 23 12 0 3.62 303.2 306 134 122 33 72 230 19 1 1.24 6.2
1967 St. Louis 22 24 24 11 11 0 3.08 169.2 158 68 58 13 45 122 7 1 1.20 4.3
1968 St. Louis 23 35 35 17 6 0 3.45 224.1 213 95 86 19 57 158 1 0 1.20 5.7
1969 St. Louis 24 6 6 2 0 0 0.81 33.1 18 4 3 0 5 30 0 0 0.69 1.7
1970 St. Louis 25 39 29 9 14 0 3.88 204.0 193 97 88 16 68 140 1 0 1.28 2.6
1971 St. Louis 26 35 35 13 11 0 3.55 233.0 222 108 92 21 68 169 3 0 1.24 4.1
1972 St. Louis 27 34 20 8 11 0 6.05 125.0 159 90 84 16 55 81 0 0 1.71 0.2
1973 Manhattan 28 32 32 13 13 0 3.53 247.1 224 109 97 24 78 187 11 1 1.22 3.3
1974 Manhattan 29 33 33 15 15 0 3.49 252.2 230 108 98 25 75 180 10 1 1.21 4.1
1975 Manhattan 30 32 32 12 14 0 3.14 244.0 236 102 85 20 60 179 12 1 1.21 5.5
1976 Manhattan 31 33 33 18 7 0 3.32 244.0 230 100 90 24 69 207 8 2 1.23 5.1
1977 Manhattan 32 35 35 16 8 0 3.98 251.0 278 116 111 35 63 200 5 1 1.36 3.4
1978 Chicago 33 31 28 15 12 0 3.82 212.0 205 93 90 17 51 163 11 3 1.21 4.5
1979 Chicago 34 31 24 13 10 0 3.69 190.0 197 79 78 20 49 116 8 1 1.29 2.2
1980 Chicago 35 31 3 1 1 0 4.41 65.1 76 34 32 6 24 28 0 0 1.53 -0.2
Total UL 15 yrs 469 407 186 145 0 3.64 2999.1 2945 1337 1214 289 839 2190 96 12 1.26 52.7
WORLD SERIES
Year Team Age G GS W L SV ERA IP HA R ER HR BB K CG SHO WHIP PR
1975 Manhattan 30 3 3 0 2 0 6.41 19.2 28 18 14 20 7 13 0 0 1.78 -5.7
1976 Manhattan♦ 31 3 3 1 1 0 4.61 13.2 17 7 7 24 0 11 1 0 1.24 -1.2
1977 Manhattan♦ 32 2 2 0 1 0 4.15 13.0 14 6 6 35 10 9 0 0 1.85 -0.4
Total UL 3 yrs 8 8 1 4 0 5.24 46.1 59 31 27 3 17 33 1 0 1.64 -7.2
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