The National Baseball Hall of Fame held its induction ceremony this week to enshrine Derek Jeter, Larry Walker, Ted Simmons and Marvin Miller after the 2020 ceremony was delayed due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.
Since the last gathering in Cooperstown in 2019, 10 Hall of Famers passed away, including Los Angeles Dodgers legends Don Sutton and Tommy Lasorda. Sutton, who was elected into the Hall of Fame in 1998, died at 75 years old on Jan. 18, 2021.
During the Hall of Fame ceremony, Sutton’s life and career was remembered with a video tribute that was shown on MLB Network and shared to Twitter with a message thanking them by his son Daron Sutton.
Sutton made his MLB debut for the Dodgers as a 21-year-old in 1966 and ended up pitching for L.A. through 1980.
A heartfelt thank you to @MLB and @baseballhall for honoring my father, Don Sutton, among the many who lost their lives in the last year. He wanted nothing more than to be a Hall of Famer, it drove him like few can understand. He cherished returning to Cooperstown each year. pic.twitter.com/TThzXvpsEy
— Daron Sutton (@lifeisgreatsut) September 8, 2021
He returned to L.A. for one season in 1988 after pitching for four other teams but he was released in August and retired after the season to begin a broadcasting career for the Dodgers and Atlanta Braves.
In 1990, Sutton took over as the full-time commentator for Atlanta and he was elected into the Braves Hall of Fame in 2015.
After his induction into the Baseball Hall of Fame, the Dodgers retired Sutton’s number on Aug. 14, 1998. This season the team is wearing patches on their uniform to honor both Sutton and Lasorda.
Sutton’s career stats
Sutton is the Dodgers’ all-time franchise leader in wins (233), innings pitched (3,816.1) strikeouts (2,696) and shutouts (52), and is tied with Don Drysdale for second-most Opening Day starts (seven). They both trail Clayton Kershaw, who has nine Opening Day starts with the Dodgers.
Sutton was a four-time All-Star, who pitched in three World Series (1974, 1977 and 1978). In 774 games, Sutton threw 5,282.1 innings with a 3.26 ERA, 3.24 FIP and 85.5 WAR.
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