Don Sutton honored at Hall of Fame ceremony

The National Baseball Hall of Fame held its induction ceremony this week to dedicate Derek Jeter, Larry Walker, Ted Simmons and Marvin Miller after the 2020 ceremony was delayed due to the coronavirus pandemic (COVID-19 ).

Since the last rally at Cooperstown in 2019, 10 Hall of Fame members have passed away, including Los Angeles Dodgers legends Don Sutton and Tommy Lasorda. Sutton, who was elected to the Hall of Fame in 1998, died at the age of 75 on January 18, 2021.

During the Hall of Fame ceremony, Sutton’s life and career was remembered with a tribute video which was broadcast on MLB Network and shared on Twitter along with a message thanking them by his son Daron Sutton.

Sutton made his MLB debut for the Dodgers at age 21 in 1966 and ended up pitching for LA until 1980.

A big thank you to @MLB and @baseball for paying tribute to my father, Don Sutton, among the many who lost their lives in the past year. He wanted nothing more than to be a Hall of Famer, it drove him as few can understand. He liked to go back to Cooperstown every year. pic.twitter.com/TThzXvpsEy

– Daron Sutton (@lifeisgreatsut) September 8, 2021

He returned to LA for a season in 1988 after pitching for four other teams, but was released in August and retired after the season to begin a career as a broadcaster for the Atlanta Dodgers and Braves.

In 1990, Sutton took over as a full-time commentator for Atlanta and was elected to the Braves Hall of Fame in 2015.

Following his induction into the Baseball Hall of Fame, the Dodgers retired Sutton’s number on August 14, 1998. This season, the team wears patches on their uniform to honor Sutton and Lasorda.

Sutton’s career statistics

Sutton is the all-time leader of the Dodgers franchise in wins (233), innings pitched (3,816.1) strikeouts (2,696) and shutouts (52) and is tied with Don Drysdale and Clayton Kershaw for most of the opening day (seven) departures.

He was four times All-Star, which launched in three World Series (1974, 1977 and 1978). In 774 games, Sutton pitched 5,282.1 innings with an ERA of 3.26, 3.24 FIP and 85.5 WAR.

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