Let's go and give Don Sutton an "In Action" 1972 card shall we?
Take a look:
Nice vintage action shot of "Black and Decker", he of 324 lifetime
victories to go along with over 3500 strikeouts, nearly 60 shutouts and a
3.26 earned run average, which is impressive considering he pitched 23
years on a Major League mound.
During those 23 seasons, Sutton posted a 20 win season in 1976, 11
other seasons of 15 or more victories, eight sub-3.00 E.R.A. campaigns,
and five years of 200+ strikeouts.
Yet people seemed to get hung up on the fact that only led the
league in a "big" category only once (he led the National League in
E.R.A. in 1980), and suggest he wasn't truly a Hall of Fame player.
Call me nuts, but part of becoming a legend, or even a Hall of Fame player, is being so consistently good for so long.
324 wins and over 3500 strikeouts. That sounds FAN-TASTIC to me!
Anyway, by 1998 the BBWA agreed, and voted him in, joining former
teammates Sandy Koufax and Don Drysdale, among others he played
alongside.
Keep an eye out for a "Black and Decker" nickname card on this blog soon enough!
