Burt Hooton vs Don Sutton: Career Stats Comparison

Burt Hooton (1971–1985) and Don Sutton (1966–1988) — breaking in during the 1970s and the 1960s respectively, so they pitched against very different hitting environments. Burt Hooton compiled 151 wins and 1,491 strikeouts; Don Sutton put up 324 wins and 3,574 strikeouts. The numbers below run them through identical career and rate-stat lenses.

Burt Hooton

Pitcher · 1971–1985
Wins
151
Losses
136
Strikeouts
1,491
ERA
3.38
WHIP
1.24
IP
2,652
View Burt Hooton's full profile →

Don Sutton

Pitcher · 1966–1988
Wins
324
Losses
256
Strikeouts
3,574
ERA
3.26
WHIP
1.14
IP
5,282
View Don Sutton'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 Burt Hooton Don Sutton
Wins 151 324
Losses 136 256
Games 480 774
Games Started 377 756
Complete Games 86 178
Shutouts 29 58
Saves 7 5
Strikeouts 1,491 3,574
Walks 799 1,343
Hits Allowed 2,497 4,692
Home Runs Allowed 193 472
Innings Pitched 2,652 5,282
ERA 3.38 3.26
WHIP 1.24 1.14
K/9 5.06 6.09
BB/9 2.71 2.29

PIV Comparison

By PIV (Player Impact Value), Don Sutton outpaces Burt Hooton 63,310 to 24,063 — a gap driven primarily by per-season impact (2,532 vs 1,504 per year). PIV adjusts each season to league baselines, so it's the cleanest way to compare careers across eras.

Burt Hooton
24,063
Career Pitcher PIV · 1,504 per season (16 seasons)
Don Sutton
63,310
Career Pitcher PIV · 2,532 per season (25 seasons)

How PIV is calculated →

Peak Seasons

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

Burt Hooton — top 3 seasons by ERA (lower is better)

19812.28 ERA11-6, 74 K in 142 IP
19772.62 ERA12-7, 153 K in 223 IP
19782.71 ERA19-10, 104 K in 236 IP

Don Sutton — top 3 seasons by ERA (lower is better)

19722.08 ERA19-9, 207 K in 272 IP
19802.20 ERA13-5, 128 K in 212 IP
19732.42 ERA18-10, 200 K in 256 IP

Verdict

On the head-to-head card, Don Sutton leads in wins, strikeouts, ERA, and WHIP, while Burt Hooton owns no headline categories. That doesn't settle the era debate, but on the raw scoreboard the edge goes to Don Sutton. PIV agrees: Don Sutton grades out higher across their careers. Click through to each profile for the full season-by-season breakdown.

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