Bruce Sutter
⭐ Hall of Fame 2006
Born: 1/8/1953 in Lancaster, PA, USA
Died: 10/13/2022 in Cartersville, GA, USA
MLB Debut: 1976-05-09 | Final Game: 1988-09-09
Bats: R | Throws: R | Height: 6'2" | Weight: 190 lbs
Full name: Howard Bruce Sutter
Biography
Bruce Sutter, born in 1953, was a prominent pitcher whose career spanned from 1976 until his retirement in 1988. He was known for his exceptional skill as a closer, a role that gained prominence in Major League Baseball during the late 1970s and 1980s. Sutter's career record stood at 68-71, with a remarkable earned run average (ERA) of 2.83, highlighting his effectiveness on the mound. He accumulated 861 strikeouts and recorded 300 saves, establishing himself as one of the premier relief pitchers of his time.
Sutter's contributions to the game were recognized with numerous accolades, including a Cy Young Award and six All-Star selections. His induction into the Hall of Fame in 2006 solidified his legacy as one of baseball's greats. He was particularly noted for his devastating split-finger fastball, which revolutionized the way pitchers approached the game during his era. Sutter's impact on the sport extended beyond his statistics; he played a crucial role in popularizing the closer position and set a standard for future generations of relief pitchers.
Career Pitching Statistics
| W | L | G | GS | CG | SHO | SV | IP | H | ER | HR | BB | SO | ERA | Pitcher PIV |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 68 | 71 | 661 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 300 | 1042.0 | 879 | 328 | 77 | 309 | 861 | 2.83 | 0 |
Season-by-Season Pitching
| Year | Team | Lg | W | L | G | GS | CG | SHO | SV | IP | H | ER | BB | SO | ERA | Pitcher PIV |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1976 | CHC | NL | 6 | 3 | 52 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10 | 83.3 | 63 | 25 | 26 | 73 | 2.70 | - |
| 1977 | CHC | NL | 7 | 3 | 62 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 31 | 107.3 | 69 | 16 | 23 | 129 | 1.34 | - |
| 1978 | CHC | NL | 8 | 10 | 64 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 27 | 98.7 | 82 | 35 | 34 | 106 | 3.19 | - |
| 1979 | CHC | NL | 6 | 6 | 62 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 37 | 101.3 | 67 | 25 | 32 | 110 | 2.22 | - |
| 1980 | CHC | NL | 5 | 8 | 60 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 28 | 102.3 | 90 | 30 | 34 | 76 | 2.64 | - |
| 1981 | STL | NL | 3 | 5 | 48 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 25 | 82.3 | 64 | 24 | 24 | 57 | 2.62 | - |
| 1982 | STL | NL | 9 | 8 | 70 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 36 | 102.3 | 88 | 33 | 34 | 61 | 2.90 | - |
| 1983 | STL | NL | 9 | 10 | 60 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 21 | 89.3 | 90 | 42 | 30 | 64 | 4.23 | - |
| 1984 | STL | NL | 5 | 7 | 71 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 45 | 122.7 | 109 | 21 | 23 | 77 | 1.54 | - |
| 1985 | ATL | NL | 7 | 7 | 58 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 23 | 88.3 | 91 | 44 | 29 | 52 | 4.48 | -1379.4 |
| 1986 | ATL | NL | 2 | 0 | 16 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 18.7 | 17 | 9 | 9 | 16 | 4.34 | -290.4 |
| 1988 | ATL | NL | 1 | 4 | 38 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 14 | 45.3 | 49 | 24 | 11 | 40 | 4.76 | 901.6 |
Career Batting Statistics
| G | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | SB | BB | SO | AVG | OBP | SLG | OPS | PIV |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 661 | 102 | 6 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 1 | 7 | 50 | 0.088 | 0.153 | 0.088 | 0.241 | 0.0 |
Season-by-Season Batting
| Year | Team | Lg | G | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | SB | BB | SO | AVG | PIV |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1976 | CHC | NL | 52 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 6 | 0.000 | 0.0 |
| 1977 | CHC | NL | 62 | 20 | 4 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 10 | 0.150 | 0.0 |
| 1978 | CHC | NL | 64 | 13 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 8 | 0.077 | 0.0 |
| 1979 | CHC | NL | 62 | 12 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 5 | 0.250 | 0.0 |
| 1980 | CHC | NL | 60 | 9 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 0.111 | 0.0 |
| 1981 | STL | NL | 48 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0.000 | 0.0 |
| 1982 | STL | NL | 70 | 8 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0.125 | 0.0 |
| 1983 | STL | NL | 60 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0.000 | 0.0 |
| 1984 | STL | NL | 71 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0.000 | 0.0 |
| 1985 | ATL | NL | 58 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0.000 | 0.0 |
| 1986 | ATL | NL | 16 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0.000 | 0.0 |
| 1988 | ATL | NL | 38 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0.000 | 0.0 |
Postseason Statistics
Playoff Career Batting
| G | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | BB | SO | AVG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.000 |
Playoff Batting by Year
| Year | Round | Team | G | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | BB | SO | AVG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1982 | NLCS | SLN | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.000 |
| 1982 | WS | SLN | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 |
Playoff Career Pitching
| W | L | G | GS | SV | IP | H | ER | BB | SO | ERA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 3 | 12.0 | 6 | 4 | 3 | 7 | 3.00 |
Playoff Pitching by Year
| Year | Round | Team | W | L | G | GS | SV | IP | H | ER | BB | SO | ERA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1982 | NLCS | SLN | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 4.3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0.00 |
| 1982 | WS | SLN | 1 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 7.7 | 6 | 4 | 3 | 6 | 4.70 |
Fielding Statistics
Career Fielding Totals by Position
| Position | G | GS | PO | A | E | DP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| P | 661 | 0 | 90 | 145 | 9 | 9 |
Season-by-Season Fielding
| Year | Team | Pos | G | GS | PO | A | E | DP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1976 | CHN | P | 52 | 0 | 6 | 9 | 1 | 1 |
| 1977 | CHN | P | 62 | 0 | 11 | 14 | 0 | 0 |
| 1978 | CHN | P | 64 | 0 | 12 | 9 | 0 | 0 |
| 1979 | CHN | P | 62 | 0 | 9 | 15 | 3 | 0 |
| 1980 | CHN | P | 60 | 0 | 6 | 14 | 0 | 0 |
| 1981 | SLN | P | 48 | 0 | 7 | 8 | 0 | 0 |
| 1982 | SLN | P | 70 | 0 | 6 | 15 | 1 | 5 |
| 1983 | SLN | P | 60 | 0 | 11 | 19 | 2 | 1 |
| 1984 | SLN | P | 71 | 0 | 14 | 19 | 0 | 2 |
| 1985 | ATL | P | 58 | 0 | 5 | 13 | 0 | 0 |
| 1986 | ATL | P | 16 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 0 |
| 1988 | ATL | P | 38 | 0 | 2 | 7 | 2 | 0 |
Career Games by Position
| Position | Games |
|---|---|
| Pitcher | 661 |
Awards & Honors
| Year | Award | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 1984 | Player of the Week | Week of 1984-09-07 |
| 1984 | Player of the Week | Week of 1984-04-13 |
| 1984 | Reliever of the Year Award | |
| 1984 | TSN Fireman of the Year | |
| 1982 | Babe Ruth Award | RP |
| 1982 | Player of the Week | Week of 1982-08-27 |
| 1982 | Player of the Week | Week of 1982-09-17 |
| 1982 | Reliever of the Year Award | |
| 1982 | TSN Fireman of the Year | |
| 1981 | Reliever of the Year Award | |
| 1981 | TSN Fireman of the Year | |
| 1979 | Cy Young Award | |
| 1979 | Player of the Week | Week of 1979-04-20 |
| 1979 | Reliever of the Year Award | |
| 1979 | TSN Fireman of the Year | |
| 1978 | Player of the Week | Week of 1978-07-08 |
| 1977 | Pitcher of the Month | May |
| 1977 | Player of the Week | Week of 1977-05-13 |
Salary History
| Year | Team | League | Salary |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1990 | ATL | NL | $1,729,167 |
| 1989 | ATL | NL | $1,729,167 |
| 1988 | ATL | NL | $1,729,167 |
| 1987 | ATL | NL | $1,729,167 |
| 1986 | ATL | NL | $1,729,167 |
| 1985 | ATL | NL | $1,354,167 |
| Total Career Earnings | $10,000,002 | ||
Award Voting History
| Year | Award | League | Finish | Points Won | Points Max | Votes First |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1984 | Cy Young Award | NL | 3rd | 33.0 | 120 | 0 |
| 1984 | Most Valuable Player | NL | 6th | 67.0 | 336 | 0 |
| 1982 | Cy Young Award | NL | 3rd | 25.0 | 120 | 2 |
| 1982 | Most Valuable Player | NL | 5th | 134.0 | 336 | 2 |
| 1981 | Cy Young Award | NL | 5th | 1.0 | 120 | 0 |
| 1981 | Most Valuable Player | NL | 8th | 59.0 | 336 | 0 |
| 1979 | Cy Young Award | NL | 1st | 72.0 | 120 | 10 |
| 1979 | Most Valuable Player | NL | 7th | 69.0 | 336 | 0 |
| 1978 | Most Valuable Player | NL | 20th | 5.0 | 336 | 0 |
| 1977 | Cy Young Award | NL | 6th | 5.0 | 120 | 0 |
| 1977 | Most Valuable Player | NL | 7th | 68.0 | 336 | 0 |