Born April 2, 1945 , Clio, Alabama

A right-handed pitcher, Sutton played for the Sioux Falls Packers as a minor leaguer, and entered the major league at the age of 21. In the majors, he played 23 years for the Los Angeles Dodgers, Houston Astros, Milwaukee Brewers, Oakland Athletics, and California Angels. He won a total of 324 games, 58 of them shutouts and five of them one-hitters. Sutton is eighth on baseball's all-time strikeout list with 3,574 K's. He also holds the major league record for number of consecutive losses to one team, having lost 13 straight games to the Chicago Cubs.

Sutton had a reputation - regardless of hard evidence - for doctoring baseballs. His nickname was "Black & Decker"; legend has it that when Sutton met notorious greaseballer Gaylord Perry, Perry handed him a tube of Vaseline, and Sutton responded with a thank-you, then handed him a sheet of sandpaper.

A four-time All-Star, Sutton was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1998. His candidacy and subsequent election were controversial, with critics pointing out that he had never won a Cy Young Award, had won 20 games only once, and had rarely led his league in any statistical category. However, supporters noted that no pitcher with either 300 victories or 3000 strikeouts had ever failed to be elected to the Hall of Fame, and that his 324 wins were, at the time of his retirement, the most by any right-handed pitcher since the 1920s, and many pitchers with worse records were in the Hall of Fame.

Sutton started his broadcasting career in 1989 with the Atlanta Braves on TBS, a position that he held through 2006. He left TBS after the 2006 season, mainly because the network will broadcast fewer games in future seasons. Sutton will be a color commentator for the Washington Nationals on the MASN network.

Sutton has also broadcast golf and served as a pre- and post-game analyst for NBC's coverage of the 1987 League Championship Series.

Achievements and Honors

(Number retired 14 August 1998 - Dodgers) #21 - Brewers; #27 - Angels
Don Sutton
Position	Pitcher (RH)
MLB Seasons	23 (16 LAD)
Teams	Dodgers (1966-1980, 1988; 550 games
	Astros (1981-1982; 50 games)
	Brewers (1982-1984; 71 games)
	A's (1985; 29 games)
	Angels (1985-1987; 74 games)
Debut	14 April 1966 (LAD)
Final Game	9 August 1988 (LAD)
Total Games	785 batting
	(774 pitching)
LCS Appearances	NLCS: 1974 (LAD), 1977 (LAD), 1978 (LAD)
	ALCS: 1982 (Brewers), 1986 (Angles)
World Series Teams	1974 (LAD), 1977 (LAD), 1978 (LAD), 1982 (Brewers)
Allstar Teams	1972, 1973, 1975, 1977 (no ERA's allowed)
Awards	The Sporting New Rookie Pitcher of the Year (1966)
	ML Shutout Leader (1972; 9)
	Lou Gehrig Memorial Award (1976)
	All-Star Game MVP (1977)
	ML ERA Leader (1980; 2.20)
	Hall of Fame (1998)
Nicknames'
"Little D" "Mr. Consistency" "Black & Decker"

Career Statistics

Contact Information

Direct emails for Don Sutton to: dsutton@hofmag.com