RIP Don Sutton

[71buc]

Don Sutton has passed away.

https://www.si.com/.amp/mlb/2021/01/...mpression=true

[Scott Garner]

Wow, another HOF pitcher passes away in the last 12 months...

Don Sutton, great guy & I got to know him as a regular customer in 1986 when I was the wine buyer and wine captain at The Ritz in Newport Beach.
Sutton used to celebrate each career win with a great bottle of Cabernet Sauvignon. Huge wine enthusiast.

Here are a few items from my personal collection:

A signed Angels program that commemorated Sutton getting his 300th career win and his ticket into Cooperstown.
I always loved this photo!

A signed newspaper clipping from his 300th win. Not an IP autograph, but cool never the less

Two season ticket stubs to his 300th career win; one signed, one unsigned

A ticket stub to Sutton's 3,000th career strikeout.

RIP Mr. Sutton!

[71buc]

Scott your collection never ceases to amaze me.

[Scott Garner]

Originally Posted by 71buc

Scott your collection never ceases to amaze me.

Thanks Mike! Although Don Sutton was not a no-hit pitcher, I had the opportunity to watch him pitch quite a bit through his career, especially when he was on the Dodgers and Angels. He was a personal favorite.

My boy Nolan Ryan was a teammate of Sutton's briefly when he was on the Astros in the early 1980's.

At one point Ryan commented on the way that Sutton effectively managed his career to the eventual trip to Cooperstown.
Nolan mentioned that Sutton always had a plan on how to reach the milestones necessary to gain induction.

Early in his career, Sutton's pitching arsenal was very effective in helping him get his wins. When his velo dropped and his ERA started rising later in his career Sutton realized that he needed to join teams that scored more runs. After leaving the Astros, Sutton joined the Brewers (Harvey's Wallbanger's) and the Angels that both boasted lineups that scored a lot of runs.

His strategy paid off, as Sutton won 324 games and struck out over 3500 batters in his lengthy career. The man had a plan!

[roarfrom34]

For most Orioles fans like myself, the thought of Sutton most likely takes them back to the last game of the '82 season when the Orioles & Brewers had identical records and the winner of that final game was headed to the ALCS (not to mention it was to be Weaver's last game as manager).

Unfortunately, Sutton held the Orioles to only two runs and Robin Yount hit two homers as the Brewers won in a route...

Here are the lineup cards from that game:

[mr2686]

Saw Don pitch a lot of games with the Dodgers in the 70's. He was always a gamer.
Here's an in-person signed baseball from around 1990-92 from a show in So.Cal.
R.I.P Don.

[Kaneen]

Had many in-person encounters with Mr. Sutton. He was always accommodating, and usually good for some interesting conversation and banter. We're losing a lot of interesting characters and legends. RIP