St.’s trump card reliever. Louis Cardinals Bruce Sutter celebrates after the final outing on the ninth inning of Game 7 of the World Series in St. Louis, on October 20, 1982. Hall of Famer and Cy Young winners of 1979 have died aged 69.
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St.’s trump card reliever. Louis Cardinals Bruce Sutter celebrates after the final outing on the ninth inning of Game 7 of the World Series in St. Louis, on October 20, 1982. Hall of Famer and Cy Young winners of 1979 have died aged 69.
AP
When Bruce Sutter started experimenting with the multi-fingered fast ball, he didn’t make his way to Cooperstown. He just wanted to save his career.
“I wouldn’t be here without that pitch,” Sutter said shortly before the Walk of Fame presentation in 2006. “My other thing is an A-ball, preferably a Double-A. Split toe. hands make it equal.”
Sutter, who is closer to a full beard, who paid for his elbow surgery as a low jumper and later pioneered the sharp down throw has dominated major leagues for decades, passed away on Thursday. He was 69 years old.
Sutter was recently diagnosed with cancer and is in a hospice surrounded by his family, one of Sutter’s three sons, Chad, told the Associated Press. The Baseball Hall of Fame says Bruce Sutter has passed away in Cartersville, Georgia.
A six-time All-Star, Sutter led the National League in saves for five years and won the Cy Young Award in 1979. He made 300 saves during a 12-year career with the Chicago Cubs, St. Louis Cardinals and Atlanta Braves.
Sutter played in an era where shuters often had more than three appearances. He threw more than one inning for his 188 saves and five throws over 100 innings in a season.
At his sickest, he hit two perfect innings – saying goodbye to future teammates Paul Molitor, Robin Yount and Ted Simmons – to end the Cardinals 7’s win over Milwaukee in the 1982 World Series.
The team’s victories are considered largely for Sutter, said son Chad.
“I mean, he’s won all these accolades and all this and they don’t even hang out in the house because all he cares about is winning and being played by the players. other respect and be a good teammate. That’s his whole motivation,” Chad Sutter told AP by phone on Friday.
“The awards, you know, after he retired, it was about time where he said, ‘Man, I did well, you know.’ Being a teammate is the most important thing for him,” he said.
Sutter is the fourth person elected to the Hall, after Hoyt Wilhelm, Rollie Fingers and Dennis Eckersley. Mariano Rivera, Goose Gossage, Lee Smith and Trevor Hoffman have joined the list.
“We lost a good friend last night at Bruce Sutter,” Braves manager Brian Snitker said ahead of Friday’s NL Division Series game in Philadelphia.
MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred said he was “deeply saddened” by the news.
“Bruce was the first pitcher to reach the Hall of Fame without starting a match, and he was one of the key figures that heralded the use of drop pills,” Manfred said in a statement. How the pain will progress. “Bruce will be remembered as one of the greatest pitchers in the history of two of our most historic brands.”
Sutter was born in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, in 1953. Drafted by Washington Senators within 21 years of 1970, he was only 17 and too young to sign.
After a brief stint in college at Old Dominion, he returned home and was playing for the semi-pro team Hippey’s Raiders in the Lebanon Valley League when a Cubs scout spotted him.
Sutter threw the ball twice for the Cubs in the Gulf Coast League rookies tournament in 1972 before injuring his right elbow while trying to learn to miss. Fearing the Cubs would cut him if they knew he was injured, Sutter scheduled the surgery himself and used his bounty to pay for the surgery.
Unable to throw as hard as he used to, Sutter had the good fortune of learning split-fingered pitching from Cubs minor league pitching coach Fred Martin during spring practice in 1973.
Sutter once said, “Nobody throws what he calls a split finger. “It’s a surface that hasn’t changed the way the game is played, but has evolved a new way to get ahead. Everyone who can throw a quick split-fingered ball thanks to Fred Martin (who died in 1979) a lot because he was the first to teach it.”
The court – the ball held between the index and middle fingers and suddenly sank as it approached the disc – has been around for a while, most notably by former champion leaper Roger Craig, but not successfully thrown.
“It came to me easily, but it took a long time to learn to control it,” says Sutter. “I can throw pretty hard. I can hit 16 guys, but I can walk 10. I mean, I’m wild.”
Sutter made his debut with the Cubs in 1976. He beat Cy Young in 1979 in a season where he made 37 saves, 2.22 ERAs and 110 strikes.
Sutter is 68-71 with an overall ERA of 2.83. In 661 games, he threw 1,042 turns and beat 861.
He threw for the Cardinals from 1981-84.
“Being a Cardinal of St Louis is an honor that he deeply cherishes,” the Sutter family statement said. “To the Cardinals, his teammates and most importantly to the greatest fans in all of sport, we thank all of the love and support over the years. “
Sutter ended with three seasons in Atlanta. His last save, number 300, came against the Braves in 1988.
“Bruce was a fan favorite during his years at St. Louis and into the years to come, and he will always be remembered for his World Series save and autographed finger throw. 1982”, Cardinals owner and CEO, Bill DeWitt Jr. said in a statement. “He was a real pioneer in the game, changing the role of the late-round reliever.”
The Cardinals retired Sutter’s number 42 years after MLB retired the issue in honor of Jackie Robinson.
The cardinal said Sutter is still alive with his wife, three sons, a daughter-in-law and six nieces.
“All our father ever wanted to be remembered for was being a great teammate, but he was so much more,” the Sutter family said in a statement Friday. “He was also a wonderful husband to our mother for 50 (years), he was a wonderful father and grandfather and he was a great friend. His love and passion. for the game of baseball that can only be overcome with his love and passion. family.”
Chad Sutter said his father “did not suffer and he went and went quickly and he passed away peacefully, surrounded by all his loved ones.”
The family said funeral arrangements are pending.
“I feel like a brother that has passed away,” said Jim Kaat, Sutter’s teammate in the 1982 Cardinals championship game. “I know Bruce more deeply than any of my teammates. We spent a lot of time together, and when your career ends, you go your separate ways. But we still keep in touch. and consider each other great friends.”
