Rick Sutcliffe

Pitcher · Career Stats, Bio & Records (1976-1994)

Rick Sutcliffe was a pitcher who played in Major League Baseball from 1976 to 1994 for 5 teams, including the Los Angeles Dodgers, a span of 19 seasons. Across 457 career appearances, he went 171-139 with a 4.08 ERA and 1,679 strikeouts. He also batted .181 with 4 home runs. Rick Sutcliffe was a 3-time All-Star, a Cy Young, a Rookie of the Year, and a Roberto Clemente Award.

W (Wins):
Games credited to a pitcher whose team took a lead it never surrendered while he was the pitcher of record.
ERA (Earned Run Average):
Earned runs allowed per nine innings pitched: (ER × 9) ÷ IP. The primary measure of pitching effectiveness.
SO (Strikeouts):
For a batter, times retired on a third strike; for a pitcher, batters retired on a third strike.
WHIP (Walks and Hits per Inning Pitched):
Baserunners allowed per inning: (BB + H) ÷ IP. Under 1.00 is elite.

Data updated

W–L 171–139
ERA 4.08
WHIP 1.39
SO 1,679
Pitcher PIV -799.7
Position
Pitcher
Bats / Throws
L / R
Height / Weight
6'7" / 215 lb
Born
6/21/1956 in Independence, MO, USA
MLB Debut
1976-09-29
Last Game
1994-07-22
Awards
3× All-Star · Cy Young · Rookie of the Year · Roberto Clemente Award

Full name: Richard Lee Sutcliffe

📊 Compare This Player 📈 View Career Timeline

Career Pitching Statistics

Rick Sutcliffe — Career Pitching Statistics
W L G GS CG SHO SV IP H ER HR BB SO ERA Pitcher PIV
171 139 457 392 72 18 6 2697.2 2,662 1,223 236 1,081 1,679 4.08 -799.7

Career ERA 4.08 vs. league average 3.89 across their career seasons — near league average.

Season-by-Season Pitching

Pitching Career Arc

Click a stat to plot it across every season.

Rick Sutcliffe Stats, Bio & Career Records
Year Team Lg W L G GS CG SHO SV IP H ER BB SO ERA Lg ERA Pitcher PIV
1976 LAN NL 0 0 1 1 0 0 0 5.0 2 0 1 3 0.00 — 0.0
1978 LAN NL 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 1.2 2 0 1 0 0.00 — 0.0
1979 LAN NL 17 10 39 30 5 1 0 242.0 217 93 97 117 3.46 4.00 (+14%) 952.8
1980 LAN NL 3 9 42 10 1 1 5 110.0 122 68 55 59 5.56 3.84 (-45%) -1504.0
1981 LAN NL 2 2 14 6 0 0 0 47.0 41 21 20 16 4.02 3.58 (-12%) -1319.7
1982 CLE AL 14 8 34 27 6 1 1 216.0 174 71 98 142 2.96 3.86 (+23%) 459.9
1983 CLE AL 17 11 36 35 10 2 0 243.1 251 116 102 160 4.29 3.87 (-11%) -778.0
1984 CLE AL 4 5 15 15 2 0 0 94.1 111 54 46 58 5.15 3.81 (-35%) -515.8
1984 CHN NL 16 1 20 20 7 3 0 150.1 123 45 39 155 2.69 3.81 (+29%) 5921.8
1985 CHN NL 8 8 20 20 6 3 0 130.0 119 46 44 102 3.18 3.89 (+18%) 1647.7
1986 CHN NL 5 14 28 27 4 1 0 176.2 166 91 96 122 4.64 3.97 (-17%) -1718.5
1987 CHN NL 18 10 34 34 6 1 0 237.1 223 97 106 174 3.68 4.29 (+14%) 1143.2
1988 CHN NL 13 14 32 32 12 2 0 226.0 232 97 70 144 3.86 3.73 (-3%) 1465.4
1989 CHN NL 16 11 35 34 5 1 0 229.0 202 93 69 153 3.66 3.71 (+2%) 1988.8
1990 CHN NL 0 2 5 5 0 0 0 21.1 25 14 12 7 5.91 3.86 (-53%) -638.4
1991 CHN NL 6 5 19 18 0 0 0 96.2 96 44 45 52 4.10 3.91 (-5%) 485.3
1992 BAL AL 16 15 36 36 5 2 0 237.1 251 118 74 109 4.47 3.75 (-19%) -1415.3
1993 BAL AL 10 10 29 28 3 0 0 166.0 212 106 74 80 5.75 4.19 (-37%) -4485.6
1994 SLN NL 6 4 16 14 0 0 0 67.2 93 49 32 26 6.52 4.51 (-44%) -2489.4
Career · 19 seasons 171 139 457 392 72 18 6 2,697.2 2,662 1,223 1,081 1,679 4.08 — -800

Lg columns show the league average for that season, with the player's figure as a percentage above or below it. Career totals the seasons listed above.

Career Batting Statistics

Rick Sutcliffe — Career Batting Statistics
G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB BB SO AVG OBP SLG OPS PIV
466 562 42 102 22 1 4 55 4 34 143 .181 .229 .246 .474 -2,052

Career AVG .181 vs. league average .260 across their career seasons — 30.1% below league average.

Career OBP .229 vs. league average .325 across their career seasons — 29.6% below league average.

Career SLG .246 vs. league average .388 across their career seasons — 36.7% below league average.

Career OPS .474 vs. league average .713 across their career seasons — 33.5% below league average.

Season-by-Season Batting

Career Arc

Click a stat to plot it across every season.

Rick Sutcliffe Stats, Bio & Career Records
Year Team Lg G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB BB SO AVG Lg AVG Lg OBP Lg SLG Lg OPS PIV
1976 LAN NL 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 .000 — — — — 0.0
1978 LAN NL 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 — — — — 0.0
1979 LAN NL 40 85 6 21 3 0 1 17 0 1 20 .247 .265 (-7%) .329 (-23%) .397 (-20%) .727 (-22%) -312.2
1980 LAN NL 44 27 1 4 0 0 0 3 0 2 5 .148 — — — — 0.0
1981 LAN NL 14 11 2 2 0 0 0 2 0 2 3 .182 — — — — 0.0
1982 CLE AL 34 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 — — — — 0.0
1983 CLE AL 36 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 — — — — 0.0
1984 CLE AL 15 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 — — — — 0.0
1984 CHN NL 20 56 3 14 3 0 0 6 0 2 18 .250 .259 (-4%) .322 (-15%) .384 (-21%) .707 (-18%) 0.0
1985 CHN NL 20 43 4 10 0 0 1 3 0 2 10 .233 — — — — 0.0
1986 CHN NL 29 53 3 11 2 0 1 4 0 2 13 .208 .257 (-19%) .325 (-23%) .395 (-24%) .720 (-23%) -200.0
1987 CHN NL 35 81 8 12 5 1 0 6 1 7 19 .148 .262 (-44%) .331 (-36%) .415 (-44%) .746 (-40%) -556.8
1988 CHN NL 33 75 8 12 5 0 1 6 1 3 18 .160 .254 (-37%) .317 (-38%) .377 (-29%) .695 (-33%) -420.1
1989 CHN NL 37 70 5 10 2 0 0 5 2 10 19 .143 .254 (-44%) .319 (-22%) .375 (-54%) .694 (-39%) -401.5
1990 CHN NL 5 5 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 2 .000 — — — — 0.0
1991 CHN NL 20 32 2 3 1 0 0 2 0 1 9 .094 — — — — 0.0
1992 BAL AL 36 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 — — — — 0.0
1993 BAL AL 29 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 — — — — 0.0
1994 SLN NL 16 23 0 3 1 0 0 1 0 0 6 .130 — — — — 0.0
Career · 19 seasons 466 562 42 102 22 1 4 55 4 34 143 .181 — — — — -1,891

Lg columns show the league average for that season, with the player's figure as a percentage above or below it. Career totals the seasons listed above.

Postseason Statistics

Playoff Career Batting

Rick Sutcliffe — Playoff Career Batting
G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO AVG
3 8 1 4 1 0 1 1 0 2 .500

Playoff Batting by Year

Rick Sutcliffe — Playoff Batting by Year
Year Round Team G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO AVG
1989 NLCS CHN 1 2 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 .500
1984 NLCS CHN 2 6 1 3 0 0 1 1 0 2 .500

Playoff Career Pitching

Rick Sutcliffe — Playoff Career Pitching
W L G GS SV IP H ER BB SO ERA
1 1 3 3 0 19.1 14 8 12 12 3.72

Playoff Pitching by Year

Rick Sutcliffe — Playoff Pitching by Year
Year Round Team W L G GS SV IP H ER BB SO ERA
1989 NLCS CHN 0 0 1 1 0 6.0 5 3 4 2 4.50
1984 NLCS CHN 1 1 2 2 0 13.1 9 5 8 10 3.38

Game Log & Splits

View full game log (921 games) →

Per-game data from Retrosheet (regular season, through 2025).

Batting — Home / Away

Rick Sutcliffe — Batting — Home / Away
SplitGABRHHRRBIAVG
Home2372651946223.174
Away2282972356232.189

Pitching — Home / Away

Rick Sutcliffe — Pitching — Home / Away
SplitGIPHERBBSOERA
Home2331391.113626105608803.95
Away2231306.012996105197994.20

Last 10 Games — Batting

Rick Sutcliffe — Last 10 Games — Batting
DateTmOppResABRH2B3BHRRBIBBSO
1994-07-22 STLATLW 201100000
1994-07-17 STLCOLL 200000001
1994-07-06 STLHOUL 200000001
1994-07-01 STLCOLW 200000000
1994-06-26 STLCHCW 201000000
1994-06-20 STLWSNL 200000001
1994-06-15 STLMIAL 100000001
1994-06-10 STLPHIW 200000000
1994-06-05 STLSFGL 000000000
1994-05-31 STLLADW 200000101

Last 10 Games — Pitching

Rick Sutcliffe — Last 10 Games — Pitching
DateTmOppDecIPHRERBBSOHR
1994-07-22 STLATL W 5.2311420
1994-07-17 STLCOL L 5.1988212
1994-07-06 STLHOU — 5.0755320
1994-07-01 STLCOL W 5.1744222
1994-06-26 STLCHC W 6.0411020
1994-06-20 STLWSN — 5.2932320
1994-06-15 STLMIA L 2.0877202
1994-06-10 STLPHI W 6.0533330
1994-06-05 STLSFG L 0.1563200
1994-05-31 STLLAD W 7.2700400

Fielding Statistics

Career Fielding Totals by Position

Rick Sutcliffe — Career Fielding Totals by Position
Position G GS PO A E DP
P 457 392 211 404 17 25

Season-by-Season Fielding

Rick Sutcliffe — Season-by-Season Fielding
Year Team Pos G GS PO A E DP
1976 LAN P 1 1 0 0 0 0
1978 LAN P 2 0 0 1 0 1
1979 LAN P 39 30 18 24 0 1
1980 LAN P 42 10 6 13 0 0
1981 LAN P 14 6 6 8 0 0
1982 CLE P 34 27 14 32 1 1
1983 CLE P 36 35 36 29 0 1
1984 CLE P 15 15 7 11 1 1
1984 CHN P 20 20 12 24 1 0
1985 CHN P 20 20 12 23 1 0
1986 CHN P 28 27 8 30 1 4
1987 CHN P 34 34 12 54 4 4
1988 CHN P 32 32 21 37 3 2
1989 CHN P 35 34 22 31 1 3
1990 CHN P 5 5 2 5 0 0
1991 CHN P 19 18 10 12 0 2
1992 BAL P 36 36 11 24 3 2
1993 BAL P 29 28 9 30 1 2
1994 SLN P 16 14 5 16 0 1

Career Games by Position

Position Diamond

Circle size = games played at each position.

Rick Sutcliffe Stats, Bio & Career Records
Position Games
Pitcher 457

Awards & Honors

Rick Sutcliffe — Awards & Honors
Year Award Notes
1992 TSN Comeback Player of the Year
1989 Player of the Week Week of 1989-04-08
1987 Lou Gehrig Memorial Award
1987 Roberto Clemente Award
1987 TSN All-Star RHP
1987 TSN Comeback Player of the Year
1987 TSN Pitcher of the Year
1984 Cy Young Award
1984 Pitcher of the Month August
1984 TSN All-Star RHP
1984 TSN Pitcher of the Year
1982 Pitcher of the Month September
1979 Rookie of the Year
1979 TSN Rookie Pitcher of the Year

Salary History

Rick Sutcliffe's recorded salaries total $18,350,000 over 10 seasons, 1985 to 1994. This total is partial: the salary data covers 1985 to 2016, and Sutcliffe's career ran from 1976 to 1994. His seasons before 1985 are not included.

Rick Sutcliffe — Salary History
Year Team League Salary
1994 SLN NL $250,000
1993 BAL AL $2,500,000
1992 BAL AL $2,400,000
1991 CHN NL $2,275,000
1990 CHN NL $1,925,000
1989 CHN NL $2,340,000
1988 CHN NL $2,070,000
1987 CHN NL $1,800,000
1986 CHN NL $1,530,000
1985 CHN NL $1,260,000
Total recorded salary (partial) $18,350,000

Award Voting History

Rick Sutcliffe — Award Voting History
Year Award League Finish Points Won Points Max Votes First
1987 Cy Young Award NL 2nd 55.0 120 4
1984 Cy Young Award NL 1st 120.0 120 24
1984 Most Valuable Player NL 4th 151.0 336 0
1982 Cy Young Award AL 5th 14.0 140 1
1982 Most Valuable Player AL 32th 1.0 392 0
1979 Rookie of the Year NL 1st 20.0 24 20

Most Similar Players

Career comps based on counting + rate stats and primary position. Score is relative — closest peer anchors at ~98%.

Career Spans

Rick Sutcliffe (highlighted) compared to peers across the same era.

  1. 98
    Kevin Gross
    142-158, 4.11 ERA
  2. 97
    Steve Renko
    134-146, 3.99 ERA
  3. 90
    Barry Zito
    165-143, 4.04 ERA
  4. 87
    Jim Clancy
    140-167, 4.23 ERA
  5. 86
    Mike Moore
    161-176, 4.39 ERA
  6. 86
    Tim Belcher
    146-140, 4.16 ERA

Rick Sutcliffe: the record in brief

Rick Sutcliffe's major league career runs from a debut on September 29, 1976 to a final game on July 22, 1994. The season rows list, in order, the Los Angeles Dodgers (1976 through 1981), the Cleveland Indians (1982 to 1984), the Chicago Cubs (1984 through 1991), the Baltimore Orioles (1992 through 1993), and the St. Louis Cardinals (1994). Listed as a pitcher, Sutcliffe batted left-handed and threw right-handed. Sutcliffe is listed at 6-foot-7 and 215 pounds. The birth record reads June 21, 1956, in Independence, MO, USA. Sutcliffe's full given name, per the bio, is Richard Lee Sutcliffe.

The pitching table credits Sutcliffe with a 171-139 record and a 4.08 ERA in 457 games. The same table counts 1,679 strikeouts, 72 complete games, and 18 shutouts. Sutcliffe's 4.08 ERA was close to the 3.89 league figure for those seasons. 1987 brought Sutcliffe a season-high 18 wins. 1984 was Sutcliffe's sharpest full season, a 2.69 ERA against the league's 3.81.

Frequently Asked Questions about Rick Sutcliffe

What years did Rick Sutcliffe play?
Rick Sutcliffe played in Major League Baseball from 1976 to 1994.
Was Rick Sutcliffe a pitcher?
Yes. Rick Sutcliffe pitched in the major leagues, recording 171 wins and 1679 strikeouts.
How many home runs did Rick Sutcliffe hit?
Rick Sutcliffe hit 4 career home runs with 102 hits.
What teams did Rick Sutcliffe play for?
Rick Sutcliffe played for 5 teams: the Los Angeles Dodgers (1976, 1978–1981), the Cleveland Indians (1982–1984), the Chicago Cubs (1984–1991), the Baltimore Orioles (1992–1993), and the St. Louis Cardinals (1994).
How many Cy Young Awards did Rick Sutcliffe win?
Rick Sutcliffe won 1 Cy Young Award, in 1984.
What awards did Rick Sutcliffe win?
Rick Sutcliffe won the Cy Young Award (1984) and the Rookie of the Year award (1979). He was selected to 3 All-Star Games.
What were Rick Sutcliffe's career stats?
In 457 games, Rick Sutcliffe went 171-139 with a 4.08 ERA, 1,679 strikeouts, 2,697.2 innings pitched, and 6 saves. At the plate he had 102 hits and 4 home runs.
How much did Rick Sutcliffe earn in his career?
Rick Sutcliffe's recorded salaries total $18,350,000 over 10 seasons, 1985 to 1994. This total is partial: the salary data covers 1985 to 2016, and Sutcliffe's career ran from 1976 to 1994. His seasons before 1985 are not included.
What was Rick Sutcliffe's salary?
Rick Sutcliffe's last recorded salary was $250,000, in 1994. His highest recorded salary was $2,500,000, in 1993, and his lowest was $250,000, in 1994. The Salary History table lists each season from 1985 to 1994.
What position did Rick Sutcliffe play?
Rick Sutcliffe played primarily as a pitcher, the position where he appeared in the most games.
How tall was Rick Sutcliffe and how much did he weigh?
Rick Sutcliffe was listed at 6 feet 7 inches and 215 pounds.
What was Rick Sutcliffe's career ERA?
Rick Sutcliffe finished with a 4.08 career ERA, going 171-139 with 1,679 strikeouts.
How many strikeouts did Rick Sutcliffe have?
Rick Sutcliffe recorded 1,679 career strikeouts.
Is Rick Sutcliffe in the Hall of Fame?
No. Rick Sutcliffe has not been inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame.