{"id":97296,"date":"2022-10-14T21:38:18","date_gmt":"2022-10-14T21:38:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/harchi90.com\/bruce-sutter-hall-of-fame-closer-dies-at-69\/"},"modified":"2022-10-14T21:38:18","modified_gmt":"2022-10-14T21:38:18","slug":"bruce-sutter-hall-of-fame-closer-dies-at-69","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/harchi90.com\/bruce-sutter-hall-of-fame-closer-dies-at-69\/","title":{"rendered":"Bruce Sutter, Hall of Fame closer, dies at 69"},"content":{"rendered":"
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ST. LOUIS \u2014 When Bruce Sutter began experimenting with the split-fingered fastball, he wasn’t looking for a path to Cooperstown. He was just hoping to save his career.<\/p>\n

\u201cI wouldn’t be here without that pitch,\u201d Sutter said shortly before his Hall of Fame induction in 2006. \u201cMy other stuff was A ball, Double A at best. The split-finger made it equal.\u201d<\/p>\n

Sutter, the full-bearded closer who paid for his elbow surgery as a low minor-leaguer and later pioneered the sharp-dropping pitch that came to dominate big-league hitters for decades, died Thursday. He was 69.<\/p>\n

Sutter was recently diagnosed with cancer and in hospice surrounded by his family, one of Sutter’s three sons, Chad, told the Associated Press. The Baseball Hall of Fame said Bruce Sutter died in Cartersville, Ga.<\/p>\n

A six-time All-Star, Sutter led the National League in saves for five years and won the 1979 Cy Young Award. He posted 300 saves in a 12-year career with the Chicago Cubs, St. Louis Cardinals and Atlanta Braves.<\/p>\n

Sutter played in a era when closers routinely got more than three outs. He threw more than one inning for 188 of his saves and five times pitched more than 100 innings in a season.<\/p>\n

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Bruce Sutter speaks during a 2006 news conference at the Waldorf Astoria in New York. The former Cubs and Cardinals closer pioneered the split-fingered fastball. <\/span>(Ron Antonelli\/New York Daily News)<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n

At his bedeviling best, he tossed two perfect innings \u2014 retiring future fellow Hall of Famers Paul Molitor, Robin Yount and Ted Simmons \u2014 to finish off the Cardinals’ Game 7 win over the Milwaukee Brewers in the 1982 World Series.<\/p>\n

The team victories, son Chad said, counted most to Sutter.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe won all these awards and all this stuff and they weren’t even hung out in the house because all he cared about was winning and being respected by the other players and being a good teammate. That was his whole motivation, \u201dhe told the AP by phone Friday.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe awards, you know, after he retired, that was kind of the time where he was like, ‘Man, I did OK, you know?’ Being a teammate was what mattered most to him.\u201d <\/p>\n

Sutter was the fourth reliever to be elected to the Hall after Hoyt Wilhelm, Rollie Fingers and Dennis Eckersley. Mariano Rivera, Goose Gossage, Lee Smith and Trevor Hoffman have since joined the list.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe lost a good friend last night in Bruce Sutter,\u201d Braves manager Brian Snitker said before Friday’s NL Division Series game against the Phillies in Philadelphia.<\/p>\n

MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred said he was \u201cdeeply saddened\u201d by the news.<\/p>\n

\u201cBruce was the first pitcher to reach the Hall of Fame without starting a game, and he was one of the key figures who foreshadowed how the use of relievers would evolve,\u201d Manfred said in a statement. \u201cBruce will be remembered as one of the best pitchers in the histories of two of our most historic franchises.\u201d<\/p>\n

Sutter was born in Lancaster, Pa., in 1953. Drafted by the Washington Senators in the 21st round in 1970, he was only 17 and too young to sign.<\/p>\n

After a brief college stint at Old Dominion, he returned home and was pitching for the semi-pro Hippey’s Raiders in the Lebanon Valley League when a Cubs scout spotted him.<\/p>\n

Sutter pitched twice for the Cubs team in the rookie Gulf Coast League in 1972 before hurting his right elbow trying to learn a slider. Afraid the Cubs would cut him if they knew he was injured, Sutter scheduled his surgery and used his bonus money to pay for the operation.<\/p>\n

Unable to throw as hard as he could previously, Sutter had the good fortune to learn the split-fingered fastball from Cubs minor-league pitching instructor Fred Martin at spring training in 1973.<\/p>\n

\u201cNobody was throwing what he called the split-finger,\u201d Sutter once said. \u201cIt was a pitch that didn’t change how the game was played, but developed a new way to get hitters out. Everybody who throws the split-fingered fastball owes a great deal of thanks to Fred Martin (who died in 1979) because he was the first one to teach it.\u201d<\/p>\n

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The Cubs mourn the passing of Hall of Fame pitcher Bruce Sutter. <\/p>\n

The 1979 NL Cy Young Award winner and a member of the Cubs Hall of Fame, Sutter pitched with Chicago from 1976-80, collecting 133 saves, second-most in franchise history.<\/p>\n

Deepest sympathy to the Sutter family. \ud83d\udc99 pic.twitter.com\/WHzzNFGzaV<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 Chicago Cubs (@Cubs) October 14, 2022<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

The pitch \u2014 the ball held between the index and middle fingers and suddenly dips as it approaches the plate \u2014 had been around for a bit, most prominently championed by former big-leaguer Roger Craig, but wasn’t being successfully thrown.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt came to me easy, but it took a long time to learn how to control it,\u201d Sutter said. \u201cI could throw pretty hard. I might strike out 16 guys, but I might walk 10. I mean, I was wild.\u201d<\/p>\n

Sutter debuted with the Cubs in 1976. He won the Cy Young in 1979 in a season in which he had 37 saves, a 2.22 ERA and 110 strikeouts.<\/p>\n

Sutter was 68-71 with a 2.83 ERA overall. In 661 games, he pitched 1,042 innings and struck out 861.<\/p>\n

He pitched for the Cardinals from 1981-84.<\/p>\n

\u201cBeing a St Louis Cardinal was an honor he cherished deeply,\u201d the Sutter family said in a statement Friday. \u201cTo the Cardinals, his teammates and most importantly to the greatest fans in all of sports, we thank you for all of the love and support over the years.\u201d<\/p>\n

Sutter finished with three seasons in Atlanta. His last save, No. 300, came in 1988.<\/p>\n

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\u201cBruce 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,\u201d Cardinals owner and CEO Bill DeWitt Jr. said in a statement. \u201cHe was a true pioneer in the game, changing the role of the late inning reliever.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Cardinals retired Sutter’s No. 42 years after MLB retired the number in honor of Jackie Robinson. The Cardinals said Sutter is survived by his wife, three sons, a daughter-in-law and six grandkids.<\/p>\n

\u201cAll our father ever wanted to be remembered as was being a great teammate, but he was so much more than that,\u201d the Sutter family said in its statement. \u201cHe was also a great husband to our mother for 50 (years), 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. \u201d<\/p>\n

Chad Sutter said his father \u201cdidn’t suffer and he went and went quick and he went peacefully, surrounded by all of his loved ones.\u201d<\/p>\n

The family said funeral arrangements were pending.<\/p>\n

\u201cI feel like a brother passed away,\u201d said Hall of Fame pitcher Jim Kaat, Sutter’s teammate on the 1982 champion Cardinals. \u201cI knew Bruce deeper than just about any other teammate. We spent a lot of time together, and as happens when your careers end, you go your separate ways. But we stayed in touch and considered each other great friends.\u201d<\/p>\n

AP reporters Ron Blum, Tom Canavan and Erica Hunzinger contributed.<\/i><\/p>\n<\/div>\n