Don Sutton
The quiet assassin who accumulated 324 wins without ever leading the league in victories, Sutton mastered the art of sustained excellence over flashy dominance. His 3.26 ERA across 23 seasons tells the story of a pitcher who consistently gave his teams a chance to win, posting a career ERA+ of 116 that placed him comfortably above league average year after year.
What separated Sutton from his more celebrated contemporaries was durability married to precision. He struck out 3,574 batters while walking just over half that number, a testament to his pinpoint control. The four All-Star selections actually undersell his value — he was the steady hand who kept taking the ball every fifth day, accumulating 5,282 innings without the arm troubles that derailed so many careers.
His Hall of Fame induction in 1998 validated what teammates always knew: championships are built on pitchers like Sutton, who deliver quality starts with metronomic consistency.
Career · Hitting
23 seasons| Year | Team | G | AB | HR | RBI | AVG | OPS | OPS+ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1966 | LAD | 38 | 82 | 0 | 2 | .183 | .410 | — |
| 1967 | LAD | 43 | 75 | 0 | 4 | .133 | .316 | — |
| 1968 | LAD | 36 | 62 | 0 | 3 | .177 | .374 | — |
| 1969 | LAD | 41 | 98 | 0 | 3 | .153 | .315 | — |
| 1970 | LAD | 40 | 84 | 0 | 6 | .155 | .455 | 64 |
| 1971 | LAD | 39 | 88 | 0 | 7 | .216 | .480 | 70 |
| 1972 | LAD | 33 | 91 | 0 | 1 | .143 | .313 | 47 |
| 1973 | LAD | 33 | 84 | 0 | 5 | .119 | .298 | 42 |
| 1974 | LAD | 40 | 98 | 0 | 7 | .184 | .420 | 61 |
| 1975 | LAD | 35 | 80 | 0 | 3 | .138 | .329 | 47 |
| 1976 | LAD | 35 | 84 | 0 | 3 | .083 | .240 | 35 |
| 1977 | LAD | 33 | 73 | 0 | 8 | .151 | .413 | 57 |
| 1978 | LAD | 34 | 72 | 0 | 3 | .083 | .215 | 31 |
| 1979 | LAD | 33 | 77 | 0 | 3 | .143 | .297 | 41 |
| 1980 | LAD | 32 | 64 | 0 | 1 | .078 | .170 | 24 |
| 1981 | HOU | 23 | 51 | 0 | 3 | .137 | .365 | 53 |
| 1982 | HOU | 34 | 68 | 0 | 1 | .162 | .347 | 49 |
| 1983 | ML4 | 31 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — |
| 1984 | ML4 | 33 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — |
| 1985 | ATH | 34 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — |
| 1986 | CAL | 34 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — |
| 1987 | CAL | 35 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — |
| 1988 | LAD | 16 | 23 | 0 | 1 | .087 | .212 | 30 |
| Career | 785 | 1354 | 0 | 64 | .144 | — | — | |
Career · Pitching
23 seasons| Year | Team | G | IP | W | L | ERA | ERA+ | SO | WHIP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1966 | LAD | 37 | 225.7 | 12 | 12 | 2.99 | 118 | 209 | 1.081 |
| 1967 | LAD | 37 | 232.7 | 11 | 15 | 3.95 | 84 | 169 | 1.203 |
| 1968 | LAD | 35 | 207.7 | 11 | 15 | 2.60 | 115 | 162 | 1.146 |
| 1969 | LAD | 41 | 293.3 | 17 | 18 | 3.47 | 104 | 217 | 1.227 |
| 1970 | LAD | 38 | 260.3 | 15 | 13 | 4.08 | 95 | 201 | 1.264 |
| 1971 | LAD | 38 | 265.3 | 17 | 12 | 2.54 | 136 | 194 | 1.078 |
| 1972 | LAD | 33 | 272.7 | 19 | 9 | 2.08 | 157 | 207 | 0.913 |
| 1973 | LAD | 33 | 256.3 | 18 | 10 | 2.42 | 155 | 200 | 0.983 |
| 1974 | LAD | 40 | 276.0 | 19 | 9 | 3.23 | 112 | 179 | 1.163 |
| 1975 | LAD | 35 | 254.3 | 16 | 13 | 2.87 | 129 | 175 | 1.038 |
| 1976 | LAD | 35 | 267.7 | 21 | 10 | 3.06 | 115 | 161 | 1.169 |
| 1977 | LAD | 33 | 240.3 | 14 | 8 | 3.18 | 125 | 150 | 1.148 |
| 1978 | LAD | 34 | 238.3 | 15 | 11 | 3.55 | 104 | 154 | 1.183 |
| 1979 | LAD | 33 | 226.0 | 12 | 15 | 3.82 | 104 | 146 | 1.159 |
| 1980 | LAD | 32 | 212.3 | 13 | 5 | 2.20 | 174 | 128 | 0.989 |
| 1981 | HOU | 23 | 158.7 | 11 | 9 | 2.61 | 137 | 104 | 1.015 |
| 1982 | HOU | 34 | 249.7 | 17 | 9 | 3.06 | 126 | 175 | 1.154 |
| 1983 | ML4 | 31 | 220.3 | 8 | 13 | 4.08 | 95 | 134 | 1.194 |
| 1984 | ML4 | 33 | 212.7 | 14 | 12 | 3.77 | 101 | 143 | 1.293 |
| 1985 | ATH | 34 | 226.0 | 15 | 10 | 3.86 | 101 | 107 | 1.239 |
| 1986 | CAL | 34 | 207.0 | 15 | 11 | 3.74 | 106 | 116 | 1.164 |
| 1987 | CAL | 35 | 191.7 | 11 | 11 | 4.70 | 91 | 99 | 1.252 |
| 1988 | LAD | 16 | 87.3 | 3 | 6 | 3.92 | 95 | 44 | 1.385 |
| Career | 774 | 5282.3 | 324 | 256 | — | — | 3574 | — | |
Matchups, projections, comps — grounded in Lahman, Retrosheet, and Statcast.