1980S CAREER-CAPPERS: 1989 DON SUTTON

Today on the blog, we take a look at my 1989 "Career-Capper" for Hall of Fame pitcher Don Sutton, from my recent custom set released a couple months back:

Everything Sutton did led him to Cooperstown, where he can proudly display his 324 wins, 58 shutouts and 3574 strikeouts over 774 games, 756 of which were starts.

Over his 23 years as a Major League pitcher, he was a part of six Pennant winners, and a minor part of a World Championship team during his final year in 1988 with the team he spent most of his career with, the Los Angeles Dodgers.

There are those that say Sutton, like a few other players who racked up big numbers, was a product of "tenure over domination", that is, that the numbers he garnered in the bigs was more about the amount of years he played over a bunch of dominating seasons.

I don't find that as a problem actually.

Being that there are just as few guys who played a long time while staying very productive as those legends who dominated for a somewhat brief time during their careers, I like to see the Don Suttons, Phil Niekros, Eddie Murrays and Tony Perez' get their due.

Almost a quarter-century of productivity on a Major League mound, leading to numbers like Sutton put up are definitely worth a plaque in Cooperstown, no?

Hope you all agree…

 

1960'S DEDICATED ROOKIES: 1966 DON SUTTON

Today's blog post has us putting a spotlight on my 1966 "dedicated rookie" for the great Don Sutton, from my custom set released a few years ago:

A really fun set to produce, and one of the most popular sets among you all over the years, there was a plethora of future Hall of Famers to create dedicated cards for from the 1960s.

Sutton was set to start a wonderful 23-year run in the Major Leagues, reeling off win after win for the Los Angeles Dodgers coming up as a 21-year-old in 1966.

The man was a machine, and while some people think incredible steadiness like this doesn’t warrant a Hall of Fame selection, I do!

There is something to celebrate when a player performs year after year over a long period of time (think Eddie Murray) without having a “mega-season” along the way.
By the time Sutton left the game after the 1988 season, he finished with 324 wins, a 3.26 earned run average, 58 shutouts and 3574 strikeouts in 774 appearances, 756 of them starts.
Needless to say, in 1998, on his fifth try, he made it into Cooperstown, joining former teammates Sandy Koufax and Don Drysdale, with 81.6% of the vote.

 

1977 N.L. CENTENNIAL: DON SUTTON

Adding to my fun thread celebrating the 100th anniversary of National League baseball, we have Los Angeles Dodgers ace Don Sutton in my 1977 "Centennial" thread:

 

Sutton was in the middle of a wonderful 23-year run in the Major Leagues, reeling off win after win for the Los Angeles Dodgers since he came up as a 21-year-old in 1966.

In 1976 he would post his only 20-win season of his long career, winning 21 and finishing third in the Cy Young race at season's end.

The man was a machine, and while some people think incredible steadiness like this doesn’t warrant a Hall of Fame selection, I do! There is something to celebrate when a player performs year after year over a long period of time (think Eddie Murray) without having a “mega-season” along the way.
By the time Sutton left the game after the 1988 season, he finished with 324 wins, a 3.26 earned run average, 58 shutouts and 3574 strikeouts in 774 appearances, 756 of them starts.
Needless to say, in 1998, on his fifth try, he made it into Cooperstown, joining former teammates Sandy Koufax and Don Drysdale, with 81.6% of the vote.

1970 "IN-GAME ACTION": DON SUTTON

On the blog today, we spotlight my Don Sutton entry to my two-series custom 1970 "In-Game Action" set released a few months back:

 

Sutton was in the middle of a wonderful 23-year run in the Major Leagues, reeling off win after win for the Los Angeles Dodgers since he came up as a 21-year-old in 1966.
The man was a machine, and while some people think incredible steadiness like this doesn’t warrant a Hall of Fame selection, I do! There is something to celebrate when a player performs year after year over a long period of time (think Eddie Murray) without having a “mega-season” along the way.
By the time Sutton left the game after the 1988 season, he finished with 324 wins, a 3.26 earned run average, 58 shutouts and 3574 strikeouts in 774 appearances, 756 of them starts.
Needless to say, in 1998, on his fifth try, he made it into Cooperstown, joining former teammates Sandy Koufax and Don Drysdale, with 81.6% of the vote.

EXPANDED LEAGUE-LEADERS: 1977 N.L. VICTORIES

Today on the blog, we move on to the pitching leaders of the 1976 season, expanded to show the top three in each category on a 1977 card, beginning with the National League and top three in victories:

 

 

We begin with San Diego Padres ace Randy Jones, who took home the N.L. Cy Young Award that year, helped by his league-leading 22 victories, while also pitching to a 2.74 ERA over 40 starts, completing 25 of them, with five shutouts and an ironman 315.1 innings of work.

It was a wonderful follow-up season to his 1975 campaign that saw him lead the league in ERA with a 2.24 figure, winning 20 games and tossing six shutouts, leading him to a second-place finish in the Cy Young race.

Sadly arm-troubles derailed his career soon after, never winning more than 13 games in any of his six remaining seasons in the Big Leagues, retiring at only 32 years of age.

In second place with 21 wins, a tie with the New York Mets Jerry Koosman and Los Angeles Dodgers ace Don Sutton.

For Koosman, it was a career-year for a man who put in a wonderful 19-year career, going 21-10 with a 2.69 ERA over 34 appearances, with three shutouts and 200 strikeouts, those numbers giving him a second place finish in the Cy Young Race.

For Sutton, it was the only time over his Hall of Fame 23-year career that he’d win 20+ games in a season, appearing in 35 games while posting an ERA of 3.06, with four shutouts and 161 strikeouts over 267.2 innings, all good for a third-place finish for the Cy Young hardware.

By the time he was done in 1988, the man would finish with 324 wins, a 3.26 ERA, 58 shutouts and 3574 strikeouts over 774 games, completing 178.

I couldn’t even believe there were those who felt he wasn’t necessarily a Hall of Famer when his eligibility came up, citing him as a “compiler” because of the length of his career.

Makes no sense to me!

Luckily the BBWA came to their senses and voted him after, but only AFTER five years of eligibility!

EXPANDED LEAGUE LEADERS- 1975 N.L. WINS

On the blog today, we move onto the National League’s top winning pitchers for 1974 in my 1975 “Expanded League Leaders” card in my long-running thread:

 

 

For 1974 we had two pitchers tied for the top spot in wins with 20, Andy Messersmith of the Los Angeles Dodgers, and Hall of Famer Phil Niekro of the Atlanta Braves.

For Messersmith, it was a banner season for the righty, as he’d finish second behind record breaking teammate Mike Marshall for the league’s Cy Young Award, based on his 20-6 record, with a very nice 2.59 ERA and 221 strikeouts for the N.L. Champs.

Tied with Messersmith with 20 wins, the great knuckler Phil Niekro, who had himself his second 20-wins season, and first since 1969, as he’d go 20-13 over 41 appearances, all but two starts, leading the league with his 18 complete games and 302.1 innings pitched.

He would also complete six games, toss a shutout, and strikeout 195 batters while also picking up a save, which all would get him a third place finish in the Cy Young race at season’s end.

In third place with 19 wins each, Los Angeles Dodger pitcher Don Sutton and Cincinnati Reds pitcher Jack Billingham, with Sutton going 19-9 over 40 starts, with five shutouts and 179 strikeouts, and Billingham going 19-11 for his second straight 19-win season, while also posting an ERA of 3.94 over 36 appearances, with three shutouts and 103 strikeouts, good for a sixth place finish in the Cy Young race.

Four solid starters putting in good seasons for their respective teams.

Next week, we take a look at the American league’s top winners of 1974!

See you then!

EXPANDED LEAGUE LEADERS: 1974 N.L. EARNED RUN AVERAGE

Today on the blog we move on to pitching statistical leaders of 1973 in my on-going "expanded league leaders" where Topps only offered the top performer in each league for a particular category on the league leader cards, beginning with the National League's top three E.R.A. guys:

 

Of course, we begin with the great Tom Seaver, who led the league in E.R.A. in 1973 on his way to a second Cy Young Award, with his 2.08 figure.

Seaver posted a record of 19-10, also leading the N.L. in complete games with 18 and strikeouts with 251, while tossing three shutouts for the New York Mets.

Right behind him with an E.R.A. 2.42 is another Hall of Famer, Don Sutton of the Los Angeles Dodgers, who had a typical year for himself, going 18-10 over 33 starts, with three shutouts and an even 200 strikeouts, finishing fifth in the Cy Young race for the second year in a row while making his second All-Star team.

The surprise player on this expanded card today is former Philadelphia Phillies pitcher Wayne Twitchell, who had the best season of his 10 year career in 1973, finishing up with a record of 13-9 over 34 appearances, 28 of them starts, with a very nice 2.50 E.R.A.

For Twitchell, he completed 10 of those starts, tossing five shutouts while striking out 169 batters, all career bests.

Well there you have it, the top three E.R.A. pitchers of 1973 for the National League, and next week we'll head over to the American League for their stingiest hurlers.

See you then!

EXPANDED YEARLY LEADER CARDS: 1973 N.L. EARNED RUN AVERAGE

Moving on to pitching categories now in my on-going "Expanded League Leaders" thread for 1973, we have the National League's top three pitchers in terms of earned run average:

 

Of course, if we're talking the N.L. and pitching performances for 1972, it's all about Philadelphia Phillies ace and future Hall of Famer Steve Carlton, who had himself a Triple Crown year after coming over from the St. Louis Cardinals.

The lefty paced the Senior Circuit with a sparkling 1.97 ERA over 41 starts, tossing an incredible 346.1 innings and posting eight shutouts, with 27 wins and 310 strikeouts.

Needless to say, you'll be seeing Mr. Carlton in the first spot on future "Expanded League Leader" cards over the next few weeks!

Coming in second is someone you may have forgotten about, or perhaps not even known about, former Cincinnati Reds pitcher Gary Nolan, who was right behind Carlton with his own 1.99 ERA, which he ended up with after 25 appearances, all starts, with two shutouts and 90 strikeouts in 176 innings of work.

The righty helped the Reds make it all the way to the World Series with his 15-5 record, leading the team in wins as well as his crisp ERA.

Coming in third in the N.L. ERA chase is another future Hall of Fame pitcher, Los Angeles Dodgers great Don Sutton, who posted a career-best 2.08 ERA along with a league-leading nine shutouts over 33 starts and 272.2 innings of work.

He also topped 200 strikeouts for the fourth time in seven seasons as a Big League pitcher, on his way to over 3500 before he was done.

Next up, the American League's best ERA guys, featuring another two future HOFers and one who many have made the case for!

1975 IN-ACTION: DON SUTTON

Time to go and add Hall of Famer Don Sutton to my long-running 1975 “In-Action” sub-set, which is shaping up to be one heck of a project on the blog:

Sutton was in the middle of a wonderful 23-year run in the Major Leagues, reeling off win after win for the Los Angeles Dodgers since he came up as a 21-year-old in 1966.
In the six seasons prior to the 1975 season, when this card would have seen the light of day, Sutton’s win totals were 17, 15, 17, 19, 18 and 19.
The man was a machine, and while some people think incredible steadiness like this doesn’t warrant a Hall of Fame selection, I do! There is something to celebrate when a player performs year after year over a long period of time (think Eddie Murray) without having a “mega-season” along the way.
By the time Sutton left the game after the 1988 season, he finished with 324 wins, a 3.26 earned run average, 58 shutouts and 3574 strikeouts in 774 appearances, 756 of them starts.
Needless to say, in 1998, on his fifth try, he made it into Cooperstown, joining former teammates Sandy Koufax and Don Drysdale, with 81.6% of the vote.

NICKNAMES OF THE '70'S #30: "BLACK & DECKER" DON SUTTON

One of my favorite nicknames of ballplayers that starred during the wild-70's is "Black and Decker", for Hall of Fame pitcher Don Sutton.

So I went ahead and created a 1978 "Nickname of the 70's" card for him, check it out:

As history likes to remind us, cheating of some sort has always been a part of the game, and with Sutton, he was a master at doctoring the baseball, hence the nom-de-plume…

Whatever he did, or did not do, it all led him to Cooperstown, where he can proudly display his 324 wins, 58 shutouts and 3574 strikeouts over 774 games, 756 of which were starts.

Over his 23 years as a Major League pitcher, he was a part of six Pennant winners, and a minor part of a World Championship team during his final year in 1988 with the team he spent most of his career with, the Los Angeles Dodgers.

There are those that say Sutton, like a few other players who racked up big numbers, was a product of "tenure over domination", that is, that the numbers he garnered in the bigs was more about the amount of years he played over a bunch of dominating seasons.

I don't find that as a problem actually.

Being that there are just as few guys who played a long time while staying very productive as those legends who dominated for a somewhat brief time during their careers, I like to see the Don Suttons, Phil Niekros, Eddie Murrays and Tony Perez' get their due.

Almost a quarter-century of productivity on a Major League mound, leading to numbers like Sutton put up are definitely worth a plaque in Cooperstown, no?

Anyway, I chose a 1978 template since he was coming off of starting the 1977 All-Star game for the National League, while smack in the middle of his solid career. Seemed like a good template to use here.

Hope you all agree…

MISSING IN ACTION-"IN ACTION" #20: 1972 DON SUTTON

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!