Editorials

Today In Dodgers History: Don Sutton Elected Into The Hall Of Fame

US PRESSWIRE Sports-Historical

Of the greats who have taken the mound for the Dodgers franchise, multiple pitchers were eventually elected into the Hall of Fame including Don Sutton, who was enshrined on Jan. 5, 1998.



Sutton spent 23 seasons in the Majors with 16 of them coming with the Dodgers. Although Sutton isn’t recognized as the best pitcher in Dodgers’ history, the right-hander sits at or near the top in several franchise records.

Sutton appeared in 550 games for the Dodgers, winning 233 of them, both of which are good for first in franchise all-time totals. He is also eighth on the list in complete games and in 1967, his second season, all 11 of his wins were games in which he went the distance.

The 2,696 strikeouts Sutton recorded are good for first in franchise history, and hundreds ahead of Sandy Koufax and thousands ahead of Orel Hershiser. Despite never finishing higher than third in Cy Young voting throughout his career, Sutton led the Majors in various statistics across multiple seasons.

In 1972, the right-hander led all pitchers with nine shutouts and earned his way to his first All-Star game. In 1980, Sutton made 31 starts and finished with an MLB-best 2.20 ERA and 0.989 WHIP.

After spending the first 15 years on his career with the Dodgers, Sutton joined the Houston Astros in 1981 and later played for Milwaukee Brewers, Oakland A’s and the then-California Angels. He returned to the Dodgers in 1988 and made 16 starts as a 43 year old with his final one on Aug. 9.

Along with being inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1998, the Dodgers retired Sutton’s No. 20 jersey the same year.

Staff Writer

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4 Comments

    1. Right. I have to remind myself how many new fans there are every year. I felt cheated for missing Sandy Koufax.

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