Hall of Fame closer, St. Louis Cardinals fan favorite, Bruce Sutter dead at 69
Bruce Sutter, whose signature split-fingered fastball made him the dominant closer of the 1970s and 80s, died Thursday at age 69, according to the St. Louis Cardinals.
Sutter, who was inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 2006, was just the fourth reliever enshrined, and the first player to have never started a game to be elected. He was a six-time All-Star and the 1979 N.L. Cy Young Award winner as a member of the Chicago Cubs.
His uniform number 42 is one of 14 numbers retired by the St. Louis Cardinals.
“On behalf of the Cardinals organization and baseball fans everywhere, I would like to express our deepest condolences to the Sutter family,” said Cardinals’ Principal Owner and Chief Executive Officer Bill DeWitt, Jr. “Bruce was a fan-favorite during his years in St. Louis and in the years to follow, and he will always be remembered for his 1982 World Series clinching save and signature split-fingered pitch. He was a true pioneer in the game, changing the role of the late inning reliever.”
Sutter was born on January 8, 1953 in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. He is survived by his wife, Jayme, sons Josh, Chad and Ben; daughter-in-law Amanda Sutter, and his six grandchildren. The family issued a statement addressed to “Cardinal Nation
Friday morning:
“All ouf father ever wanted to be remembered as was being a great teammate, but he was so much more than that. He was also a great husband to our mother for 50 yrs, he was a great father and grandfather and he was a great friend. His love and passion for the game of baseball can only be surpassed by his love and passion for his family.
“Being a St. Louis Cardinal was an honor he cherished deeply. To the Cardinals, his teammates and most importantly the greatest fans in all of sports, we thank you for all of the love and support over the years. He will be greatly missed but his legacy will live on through his family and through Cardinal Nation!”
Sutter pitched for the Cardinals from 1981 to 1984. Acquired from the Chicago Cubs on Dec. 9, 1980, in exchange for first baseman Leon Durham, third baseman Ken Reitz and minor-league third baseman Ty Waller, Sutter proved to be a key acquisition for general manager and manager Whitey Herzog in his transformation of the Cardinals from underachievers to World Champions.
During the strike-shortened 1981 season, Sutter saved 25 games, the most by a St. Louis pitcher since the save became an officially recognized statistic in 1969. He then recorded 36 saves in 1982, striking out Gorman Thomas of the Milwaukee Brewers to wrap up Game 7 of the World Series.
Sutter debuted with the Chicago Cubs in 1976. He won the 1979 N.L. Cy Young Award after amassing 37 saves and a 2.22 ERA with 110 strikeouts in 101.3 innings pitched. He was only the third reliever to be so honored, following Mike Marshall of the Los Angeles Dodgers in 1974 and Sparky Lyle of the New York Yankees in 1977.
In 12 major-league seasons, Sutter totaled 300 saves to rank third on baseball’s all-time list at the time of his retirement. He worked more than one inning for 188 of his rescues and surpassed 100 innings pitched in a season on five occasions, with one more year at 99.
Sutter led the National League in saves in 1979, 1980, 1981, 1982 and 1984. He was a six-time All-Star, appearing in four games and earning two wins (1978 and 1979) and two saves (1980 and 1981) while not allowing a run.
He won the Rolaids Relief Man Award four times, his career ending in 1988 after pitching in three seasons for the Atlanta Braves.
Sutter’s four-year St. Louis save total of 127 established a franchise record and now ranks fourth behind Jason Isringhausen (217), Lee Smith (160) and Todd Worrell (129). Sutter was voted the relief pitcher on the All-Busch Stadium II team in 2005 and was an inaugural member of the Cardinals’ Hall of Fame in 2014.
This story was originally published October 14, 2022 at 10:53 AM.