DOG COMMENTARY:
Donald Howard “Don” Sutton (born April 2, 1945) is an American former professional baseball player….who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a right-handed pitcher for 23 seasons with the Los Angeles Dodgers, Houston Astros, Milwaukee Brewers, Oakland Athletics, and California Angels….as he won a total of 324 games….58 of them shutouts and five of them one-hitters….finishing his career in seventh place on baseball’s all-time strikeout list with 3,574.
After a year in the minor leagues, Sutton joined the Dodgers….and beginning in 1966….he was in the team’s starting pitching rotation with Sandy Koufax, Don Drysdale and Claude Osteen….as 16 of Sutton’s 23 MLB seasons were spent with the Dodgers. He struck out 209 batters that first season with the Dodgers….which was the highest strikeout total for a rookie since 1911. He registered only one 20 win season, but he earned double-digit wins in almost all of his seasons.
Sutton was selected to the Major League Baseball All-Star Game four times in the 1970s. The 1974 Dodgers made the postseason after winning 102 games during the regular season….then they beat the Pittsburgh Pirates in the playoffs and Sutton accounted for two of the team’s three wins. They lost the 1974 World Series four games to one….with Sutton earning the only win for the team. In 1976, Sutton had his best major league season by finishing the year with a 21-10 win-loss record. He earned a complete game win in the 1977 playoffs, followed by a 1-0 record in two appearances in that year’s World Series….which the team lost to the Yankees.
Coming into the 1986 season, Sutton had 295 career victories….as he struggled early in the season….but he won his 300th career game in June of that year….earning that win by pitching a complete game against the Texas Rangers….and striking out Gary Ward for the final out of the game as seen in this video herewith. He appeared in two games in the 1986 playoffs against the Red Sox, earning a 1.86 ERA but registering two no-decisions.
Sutton entered broadcasting after his retirement as a player….where he has worked in this capacity for several teams….with the majority being with the Atlanta Braves. He was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1998.
This video is about MLB baseball history being made and therefore is well worth watching.
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