Don Sutton Stats

Don Sutton was born on Monday, April 2, 1945, in Clio, Alabama. Sutton was 21 years old when he broke into the big leagues on April 14, 1966, with the Los Angeles Dodgers. His biographical data, year-by-year hitting stats, fielding stats, pitching stats (where applicable), career totals, uniform numbers, salary data and miscellaneous items-of-interest are presented by Baseball Almanac on this comprehensive Don Sutton baseball stats page.

Baseball Almanac Top Quote

"It's amazing how fast you grow old in this game. At first you're the rookie right-hander, next season you're that promising right-hander, then suddenly you're the old man." - Don Sutton in The Los Angeles Times (08/04/1987, A Graybeard's Lament, Part III Page 2)

Don Sutton

Don 'The Mechanic' Sutton Autograph on a 1970 Topps Baseball Card (#622 | <a href='../baseball_cards/baseball_cards_oneset.php?s=1970top01' title='1970 Topps Baseball Card Checklist'>Checklist</a>)

Don 'The Mechanic' Sutton Autograph on a 1970 Topps Baseball Card (#622 | Checklist)

CareerCollegeAll-StarWild CardDivisionLCSWorld SeriesManagerTradesAwardsVideosCardsmlb   espn
Birth Name:   Donald Howard Sutton
Nickname:   Black & Decker or Don or The Mechanic
Born On:   04-02-1945  (Aries)
Place of Birth Data Born In:   Clio, Alabama
Year of Death Data Died On:   01-18-2021 (1,000 Oldest Living)
Place of Death Data Died In:   Rancho Mirage, California
Cemetery:   Not Yet Determined
High School:   J. M. Tate High School (Pensacola, FL)
College:   Whittier College
Batting Stances Chart Bats:   Right   Throwing Arms Chart Throws:   Right
Player Height Chart Height:   6-01   Player Weight Chart Weight:   185
First Game:   04-14-1966 (Age 21)
Last Game:   08-09-1988
Draft:   Not Applicable

Don Sutton

Don Sutton Pitching Stats

1966 21 Dodgers 37 35 0 12 12 .500 2.99 6 2 0 225.2 916 192 75 82 19 52 6 209 5 3 0 -
1967 22 Dodgers 37 34 2 11 15 .423 3.95 11 3 1 232.2 962 223 102 106 18 57 9 169 3 6 0 -
1968 23 Dodgers 35 27 6 11 15 .423 2.60 7 2 1 207.2 847 179 60 64 6 59 14 162 4 2 3 -
1969 24 Dodgers 41 41 0 17 18 .486 3.47 11 4 0 293.1 1,226 269 113 123 25 91 6 217 9 3 1 0
1970 25 Dodgers 38 38 0 15 13 .536 4.08 10 4 0 260.1 1,109 251 118 127 38 78 7 201 9 10 2 0
1971 26 Dodgers 38 37 1 17 12 .586 2.54 12 4 1 265.1 1,059 231 75 85 10 55 5 194 5 5 0 -
1972 27 Dodgers 33 33 0 19 9 .679 2.08 18 9 0 272.2 1,061 186 63 78 13 63 1 207 9 4 1 0
1973 28 Dodgers 33 33 0 18 10 .643 2.42 14 3 0 256.1 1,006 196 69 78 18 56 4 200 10 5 0 0
1974 29 Dodgers 40 40 0 19 9 .679 3.23 10 5 0 276.0 1,148 241 99 111 23 80 2 179 4 6 2 0
1975 30 Dodgers 35 35 0 16 13 .552 2.87 11 4 0 254.1 1,031 202 81 87 17 62 5 175 7 3 0 0
1976 31 Dodgers 35 34 1 21 10 .677 3.06 15 4 0 267.2 1,093 231 91 98 22 82 6 161 4 3 1 -
1977 32 Dodgers 33 33 0 14 8 .636 3.18 9 3 0 240.1 979 207 85 93 23 69 2 150 5 3 1 0
1978 33 Dodgers 34 34 0 15 11 .577 3.55 12 2 0 238.1 990 228 94 109 29 54 7 154 6 5 0 0
1979 34 Dodgers 33 32 1 12 15 .444 3.82 6 1 1 226.0 927 201 96 109 21 61 6 146 4 1 1 -
1980 35 Dodgers 32 31 1 13 5 .722 2.20 4 2 1 212.1 833 163 52 56 20 47 5 128 0 2 1 -
1981 36 Astros 23 23 0 11 9 .550 2.61 6 3 0 158.2 624 132 46 51 6 29 3 104 0 1 1 0
1982 37 Astros 27 27 0 13 8 .619 3.00 4 0 0 195.0 784 169 65 75 10 46 2 139 3 1 1 0
1982 37 Brewers 7 7 0 4 1 .800 3.29 2 1 0 54.2 228 55 20 21 8 18 0 36 0 0 0 0
1983 38 Brewers 31 31 0 8 13 .381 4.08 4 0 0 220.1 925 209 100 109 21 54 2 134 2 5 0 0
1984 39 Brewers 33 33 0 14 12 .538 3.77 1 0 0 212.2 912 224 89 103 24 51 2 143 4 3 1 0
1985 40 Athletics 29 29 0 13 8 .619 3.89 1 1 0 194.1 819 194 84 88 19 51 0 91 6 0 0 0
1985 40 Angels 5 5 0 2 2 .500 3.69 0 0 0 31.2 124 27 13 13 6 8 0 16 0 0 0 0
1986 41 Angels 34 34 0 15 11 .577 3.74 3 1 0 207.0 853 192 86 93 31 49 2 116 4 3 1 0
1987 42 Angels 35 34 0 11 11 .500 4.70 1 0 0 191.2 795 199 100 101 38 41 0 99 7 7 0 -
1988 43 Dodgers 16 16 0 3 6 .333 3.92 0 0 0 87.1 380 91 38 44 7 30 6 44 2 1 4 0
23 Years 774 756 12 324 256 .559 3.26 178 58 5 5,282.1 21,631 4,692 1,914 2,104 472 1,343 102 3,574 112 82 21 0

Don Sutton

Don Sutton Hitting Stats

1966 21 Dodgers 38 82 4 15 2 0 0 0 2 1 0 27 2 0 1 1 .183 .202 .207
1967 22 Dodgers 43 75 4 10 2 0 0 0 4 2 0 24 7 0 0 0 .133 .156 .160
1968 23 Dodgers 36 62 3 11 0 0 0 0 3 2 0 22 6 2 0 1 .177 .197 .177
1969 24 Dodgers 41 98 6 15 0 0 0 0 3 0 0 28 9 0 1 5 .153 .162 .153
1970 25 Dodgers 40 84 6 13 2 1 0 0 6 10 0 22 5 0 1 1 .155 .253 .202
1971 26 Dodgers 39 88 4 19 2 0 0 0 7 3 0 18 4 0 0 0 .216 .242 .239
1972 27 Dodgers 33 91 4 13 0 0 0 0 1 2 0 24 11 0 1 0 .143 .170 .143
1973 28 Dodgers 33 84 6 10 1 0 0 0 5 5 0 17 7 1 0 3 .119 .167 .131
1974 29 Dodgers 40 98 7 18 2 0 0 0 7 3 0 22 9 0 1 3 .184 .216 .204
1975 30 Dodgers 35 80 4 11 1 0 0 0 3 4 0 20 12 0 0 3 .138 .179 .150
1976 31 Dodgers 35 84 2 7 1 0 0 0 3 6 0 19 9 0 0 3 .083 .144 .095
1977 32 Dodgers 33 73 3 11 2 0 0 0 8 8 0 21 10 0 0 2 .151 .235 .178
1978 33 Dodgers 34 72 1 6 0 0 0 0 3 4 0 22 14 0 0 0 .083 .132 .083
1979 34 Dodgers 33 77 2 11 0 0 0 0 3 1 0 17 8 0 0 1 .143 .154 .143
1980 35 Dodgers 32 64 3 5 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 19 8 0 0 4 .078 .092 .078
1981 36 Astros 23 51 1 7 0 0 0 0 3 5 0 12 5 0 1 2 .137 .228 .137
1982 37 Astros 27 68 3 11 0 0 0 0 1 2 0 25 4 0 0 0 .162 .186 .162
1982 37 Brewers 7 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 .000 .000
1983 38 Brewers 31 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 .000 .000
1984 39 Brewers 33 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 .000 .000
1985 40 Athletics 29 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 .000 .000
1985 40 Angels 5 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 .000 .000
1986 41 Angels 34 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 .000 .000
1987 42 Angels 35 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 .000 .000
1988 43 Dodgers 16 23 1 2 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 6 6 0 0 0 .087 .125 .087
23 Years 785 1,354 64 195 15 1 0 0 64 60 0 365 136 3 6 29 .144 .183 .157

Don Sutton

Don Sutton Fielding Stats

1966 Dodgers P 37 35 677 42 1.1 40 8 32 2 3 n/a n/a n/a .952 1.60
1967 Dodgers P 37 34 698 39 1.1 38 7 31 1 2 n/a n/a n/a .974 1.47
1968 Dodgers P 35 27 623 38 1.1 37 12 25 1 0 n/a n/a n/a .974 1.60
1969 Dodgers P 41 41 880 63 1.5 62 19 43 1 3 n/a n/a n/a .984 1.90
1970 Dodgers P 38 38 781 52 1.4 49 21 28 3 1 n/a n/a n/a .942 1.69
1971 Dodgers P 38 37 796 55 1.4 53 27 26 2 5 n/a n/a n/a .964 1.80
1972 Dodgers P 33 33 818 53 1.6 52 18 34 1 2 n/a n/a n/a .981 1.72
1973 Dodgers P 33 33 769 47 1.4 46 12 34 1 2 n/a n/a n/a .979 1.62
1974 Dodgers P 40 40 828 50 1.3 50 17 33 0 1 n/a n/a n/a 1.000 1.63
1975 Dodgers P 35 35 763 51 1.5 49 24 25 2 0 n/a n/a n/a .961 1.73
1976 Dodgers P 35 34 803 37 1.1 36 5 31 1 2 n/a n/a n/a .973 1.21
1977 Dodgers P 33 33 721 45 1.4 44 15 29 1 3 n/a n/a n/a .978 1.65
1978 Dodgers P 34 34 715 36 1.1 36 13 23 0 2 n/a n/a n/a 1.000 1.36
1979 Dodgers P 33 32 678 41 1.2 40 16 24 1 2 n/a n/a n/a .976 1.59
1980 Dodgers P 32 31 637 51 1.6 49 24 25 2 3 n/a n/a n/a .961 2.08
1981 Astros P 23 23 476 37 1.6 35 11 24 2 3 n/a n/a n/a .946 1.99
1982 Astros P 27 27 585 37 1.4 36 16 20 1 2 n/a n/a n/a .973 1.66
1982 Brewers P 7 7 164 14 2.0 14 6 8 0 1 n/a n/a n/a 1.000 2.30
1983 Brewers P 31 31 661 37 1.2 36 13 23 1 1 n/a n/a n/a .973 1.47
1984 Brewers P 33 33 638 31 0.9 30 11 19 1 1 n/a n/a n/a .968 1.27
1985 Athletics P 29 29 583 42 1.4 38 7 31 4 1 n/a n/a n/a .905 1.76
1985 Angels P 5 5 95 2 0.4 2 1 1 0 0 n/a n/a n/a 1.000 0.57
1986 Angels P 34 34 621 34 1.0 32 18 14 2 1 n/a n/a n/a .941 1.39
1987 Angels P 35 34 575 26 0.7 26 8 18 0 1 n/a n/a n/a 1.000 1.22
1988 Dodgers P 16 16 262 18 1.1 17 5 12 1 0 n/a n/a n/a .944 1.75
P Totals 774 756 15,847 978 1.3 947 334 613 31 42 n/a n/a n/a .968 1.61
23 Years 774 756 15,847 978 1.3 947 334 613 31 42 n/a n/a n/a .968 1.61

Don Sutton

Don Sutton Miscellaneous Stats

1966 Dodgers 0 0 .000 0 1 n/a 0.0 3.0 41.0 4.02 8.34 2.07
1967 Dodgers 0 0 .000 0 6 n/a 0.0 3.1 18.8 2.96 6.54 2.20
1968 Dodgers 0 0 .000 0 1 n/a 0.0 2.8 20.7 2.75 7.02 2.56
1969 Dodgers 0 0 .000 0 0 n/a 0.0 3.5 32.7 2.38 6.66 2.79
1970 Dodgers 1 0 1.000 0 2 n/a 0.0 3.8 14.0 2.58 6.95 2.70
1971 Dodgers 0 0 .000 0 1 n/a 0.0 4.9 12.6 3.53 6.58 1.87
1972 Dodgers 0 0 .000 0 0 n/a 0.0 3.8 91.0 3.29 6.83 2.08
1973 Dodgers 0 0 .000 0 0 n/a 0.0 4.9 16.8 3.57 7.02 1.97
1974 Dodgers 0 0 .000 0 0 n/a 0.0 4.5 14.0 2.24 5.84 2.61
1975 Dodgers 0 0 .000 0 0 n/a 0.0 4.0 26.7 2.82 6.19 2.19
1976 Dodgers 0 0 .000 0 0 n/a 0.0 4.4 28.0 1.96 5.41 2.76
1977 Dodgers 0 0 .000 0 0 n/a 0.0 3.5 9.1 2.17 5.62 2.58
1978 Dodgers 0 0 .000 0 0 n/a 0.0 3.3 24.0 2.85 5.82 2.04
1979 Dodgers 0 0 .000 0 0 n/a 0.0 4.5 25.7 2.39 5.81 2.43
1980 Dodgers 0 0 .000 0 0 n/a 0.0 3.4 64.0 2.72 5.43 1.99
1981 Astros 0 0 .000 0 0 n/a 0.0 4.3 17.0 3.59 5.90 1.64
1982 Astros 0 0 .000 0 0 n/a 0.0 2.7 68.0 3.02 6.42 2.12
1982 Brewers 0 0 .000 0 0 0 0.0 0.0 0.0 2.00 5.93 2.96
1983 Brewers 0 0 .000 0 0 0 0.0 0.0 0.0 2.48 5.47 2.21
1984 Brewers 0 0 .000 0 0 0 0.0 0.0 0.0 2.80 6.05 2.16
1985 Athletics 0 0 .000 0 0 0 0.0 0.0 0.0 1.78 4.21 2.36
1985 Angels 0 0 .000 0 0 0 0.0 0.0 0.0 2.00 4.55 2.27
1986 Angels 0 0 .000 0 0 0 0.0 0.0 0.0 2.37 5.04 2.13
1987 Angels 0 0 .000 0 0 0 0.0 0.0 0.0 2.41 4.65 1.93
1988 Dodgers 0 0 .000 0 0 n/a 0.0 3.8 23.0 1.47 4.53 3.09
23 Years 1 0 1.000 0 11 0 0.0 3.7 21.2 2.66 6.09 2.29

Don Sutton

Don Sutton Miscellaneous Items of Interest

1966 Los Angeles Dodgers 20 $5,000.00 - -
1967 Los Angeles Dodgers 20 $6,000.00 - -
1968 Los Angeles Dodgers 20 $10,000.00 - -
1969 Los Angeles Dodgers 20 $24,000.00 - -
1970 Los Angeles Dodgers 20 $46,000.00 - -
1971 Los Angeles Dodgers 20 $65,000.00 - -
1972 Los Angeles Dodgers 20 $80,000.00 Stats -
1973 Los Angeles Dodgers 20 $88,000.00 Stats -
1974 Los Angeles Dodgers 20 $114,000.00 - Stats
1975 Los Angeles Dodgers 20 $156,000.00 Stats -
1976 Los Angeles Dodgers 20 $156,000.00 - -
1977 Los Angeles Dodgers 20 $250,000.00 Stats Stats
1978 Los Angeles Dodgers 20 $250,000.00 - Stats
1979 Los Angeles Dodgers 20 $250,000.00 - -
1980 Los Angeles Dodgers 20 $250,000.00 - -
1981 Houston Astros 20 $875,000.00 - -
1982 Houston Astros 20 $825,000.00 - Stats
1982 Milwaukee Brewers 21 "     "     - Stats
1983 Milwaukee Brewers 21, 20 $825,000.00 - -
1984 Milwaukee Brewers 20 $625,000.00 - -
1985 Oakland Athletics 27, 20 $750,000.00 - -
1985 California Angels 27 "     "     - -
1986 California Angels 27, 20 $890,000.00 - -
1987 California Angels 20 $890,000.00 - -
1988 Los Angeles Dodgers 20 $350,000.00 - -

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baseball almanac fast facts

Donald Howard Sutton was a Major League Baseball player who pitched for the Los Angeles Dodgers (1966-1980, 1988), Houston Astros (1981-1982), Milwaukee Brewers (1982-1984), Oakland Athletics (1985), and California Angels (1985-1987). Don, his nickname, made his big league debut on April 14, 1966, and became the second J. M. Tate High School graduate to reach the majors. Do you know who preceded him? [Answer]

Did you know that Don Sutton was the nineteenth pitcher in history to join the 300 Wins Club, the eighth pitcher in history to join the 3,000 Strikeouts Club, and the fourth pitcher to appear in both pitching fraternities?

Don Sutton Rookie Baseball Card

Don Sutton Rookie Card | 1966 Topps Baseball Card (#288 | Checklist)
Baseball Almanac Collection

Don Sutton made his Major League debut on April 14, 1966, a 7-inning, 7-hits allowed, 7-strikeout loss to the Houston Astros. Join Baseball Almanac as we take a look at some additional "Black & Decker" numbers of interest:

0 - Don Sutton never spent a single day on the disabled list, never won a Cy Young Award, never threw a no-hitter (but did have five one-hitters), and never hit a home run (but had 1,354 at-bats making giving him the fifth worst at-bat to home run ratio in Major League history).

2.20 - Don Sutton had a league-low earned run average in 1980, his first and only ERA Championship. Second place in the Senior Circuit that year was Steve Carlton (2.34 ERA).

19 - Don Sutton had his nineteenth consecutive 100 strikeout season in 1984, setting a new Major League mark for consecutive 100+ strikeout seasons over the course of a career.

20 - Don Sutton wore number twenty most of his entire career, and in 1998, the Los Angeles Dodgers retired #20 in his honor. [Don Sutton Videos]

81.6 - Don Sutton appeared on his first National Baseball Hall of Fame ballot in 1994, receiving 56.8% of the votes. In 1995, 57.4% of the votes, in 1996 63.8% of the votes, in 1997 73.2% of the votes, and in 1998 Sutton received 81.6% of the vote - the only player selected for induction.

209 - Don Sutton had two-hundred nine strikeouts his rookie year, the most by a senior circuit rookie pitcher since Grover Alexander in 1911. The Sporting News awarded Sutton with the Rookie Pitcher of the Year Award.

250 - Don Sutton won his 250th career game on July 7, 1982, a 5-1 four hitter against the Chicago Cubs. Black & Decker didn't always have that kind of success with the Cubbies, having lost his first thirteen consecutive decisions against the Cubs.

1976 - Don Sutton, on September 22, 1976, beat the Giants 3-1 on a 6-hitter, his twentieth win of the season, and the only year he joined the 20-wins club.

Don Sutton Hall of Fame Plaque

Don Sutton | National Baseball Hall of Fame Plaque | Class of 1998 (HOF)

Besides being former Major League pitchers, what do Hideo Nomo (236 strikeouts in 1995) and Don Sutton (209 strikeouts in 1966) have in common? They are the only two Los Angeles Dodgers' twirlers, during their very first season, to strikeout more than two-hundred batters.