Terry Forster vs Bruce Sutter: Career Stats Comparison

Terry Forster (1971–1986) and Bruce Sutter (1976–1988) — both came up during the 1970s, so the matchup is a direct one. Terry Forster compiled 54 wins and 791 strikeouts; Bruce Sutter put up 68 wins and 861 strikeouts. The numbers below run them through identical career and rate-stat lenses.

Terry Forster

Pitcher · 1971–1986
Wins
54
Losses
65
Strikeouts
791
ERA
3.23
WHIP
1.35
IP
1,105
View Terry Forster's full profile →

Bruce Sutter

Pitcher · 1976–1988
Wins
68
Losses
71
Strikeouts
861
ERA
2.83
WHIP
1.14
IP
1,042
View Bruce Sutter's full profile →

Career Stats Side-by-Side

Every cell below is a career total or career rate. Cells highlighted in green mark the player who leads that line. For pitchers, lower ERA, WHIP, and BB/9 lead; higher K/9 leads.

Statistic Terry Forster Bruce Sutter
Wins 54 68
Losses 65 71
Games 614 661
Games Started 39 0
Complete Games 5 0
Shutouts 0 0
Saves 127 300
Strikeouts 791 861
Walks 457 309
Hits Allowed 1,034 879
Home Runs Allowed 51 77
Innings Pitched 1,105 1,042
ERA 3.23 2.83
WHIP 1.35 1.14
K/9 6.44 7.44
BB/9 3.72 2.67

PIV Comparison

By PIV (Player Impact Value), Bruce Sutter outpaces Terry Forster 23,292 to 17,266 — a gap driven primarily by per-season impact (1,941 vs 1,079 per year). PIV adjusts each season to league baselines, so it's the cleanest way to compare careers across eras.

Terry Forster
17,266
Career Pitcher PIV · 1,079 per season (16 seasons)
Bruce Sutter
23,292
Career Pitcher PIV · 1,941 per season (12 seasons)

How PIV is calculated →

Peak Seasons

The best single seasons each player produced, ranked by ERA among qualified workloads (120+ innings).

Terry Forster — top 2 seasons by ERA (lower is better)

19733.23 ERA6-11, 120 K in 172 IP
19743.62 ERA7-8, 105 K in 134 IP

Bruce Sutter — top 1 seasons by ERA (lower is better)

19841.54 ERA5-7, 77 K in 122 IP

Verdict

On the head-to-head card, Bruce Sutter leads in wins, strikeouts, ERA, and WHIP, while Terry Forster owns innings pitched. That doesn't settle the era debate, but on the raw scoreboard the edge goes to Bruce Sutter. PIV agrees: Bruce Sutter grades out higher across their careers. Click through to each profile for the full season-by-season breakdown.

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