The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
The Spokesman-Review Newspaper The Spokesman-Review
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883
Current Temperature
43°F
Current Conditions
Overcast clouds
View complete weather report

Color Scheme

Subscribe now

Former Spokane Indian Don Sutton, a Hall of Fame pitcher for Dodgers, dies at 75

This June 8, 2013 photo shows Hall of Fame and former Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Don Sutton, right, and Brooklyn Dodger pitcher Sandy Koufax, left, during the Old-Timers game prior to a baseball game between the Atlanta Braves and the Los Angeles Dodgers in Los Angeles. Sutton, a Hall of Fame pitcher who spent most of his career in a Los Angeles Dodgers
This June 8, 2013 photo shows Hall of Fame and former Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Don Sutton, right, and Brooklyn Dodger pitcher Sandy Koufax, left, during the Old-Timers game prior to a baseball game between the Atlanta Braves and the Los Angeles Dodgers in Los Angeles. Sutton, a Hall of Fame pitcher who spent most of his career in a Los Angeles Dodgers' rotation that included Koufax and Don Drysdale, has died, Tuesday, Jan. 19, 2021. He was 75. (Keith Birmingham)
By Beth Harris Associated Press

Don Sutton, a Hall of Fame pitcher who was a stalwart of the Los Angeles Dodgers’ rotation spanning an era from Sandy Koufax to Fernando Valenzuela, died Tuesday. He was 75.

The Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, New York, said Sutton died at his home in Rancho Mirage, California, after a long struggle with cancer. The Atlanta Braves, for whom Sutton was a long-time broadcaster, said he died in his sleep.

A four-time All-Star, Sutton had a career record of 324-256 and an ERA of 3.26 while pitching for the Dodgers, Houston Astros, Milwaukee Brewers, Oakland Athletics, California Angels and the Dodgers again in 1988, his final season.

Early in the 1968 season, Sutton was optioned to Spokane, where he made two starts for the Indians. The second was a three-hit victory. In 18 innings, he had a 1-1 record with a 1.13 ERA and struck out 19. The Dodgers then recalled him and, in his third full major league season, had an 11-15 record for a seventh-place team but a 2.68 ERA.

He had 18 consecutive double-win seasons and 21 consecutive with more than 100 strikeouts, most of them for Los Angeles. He’s the only pitcher (774) other than Cy Young to make more than 700 starts.

Sutton’s death comes on the heels of seven Hall of Famers dying in 2020, the most sitting members of Cooperstown to die in a calendar year. They were Lou Brock, Whitey Ford, Bob Gibson, Al Kaline, Joe Morgan, Phil Niekro and Tom Seaver.

-Associated Press