Bruce Sutter
Bruce Sutter
Howard Bruce Sutteris a former Major League Baseball right-handed relief pitcher. He was arguably the first pitcher to make effective use of the split-finger fastball. One of the sport's dominant relievers in the late 1970s and early 1980s, he became the only pitcher to lead the National League in saves five times. In 1979, Sutter won the NL's Cy Young Award as the league's top pitcher...
NationalityAmerican
ProfessionBaseball Player
Date of Birth8 January 1953
CityLancaster, PA
CountryUnited States of America
Pitchers are going to break. You can limit their pitches and limit their innings, and they're still going to blow out. Pitching is hard on the arm.
My first year in the big leagues, I made $17,000. It was easy to go out and get another $17,000 relief pitcher. I never worried about innings or pitches. I just pitched.
As long as you're on the ballot, you have a chance. Just being on the ballot is such a great honor.
I faced Rice in All-Star Games and he was a tremendous player. And Andre Dawson could hit, run, throw.
My sons remember me most as a Cardinal. My one son is 26 years old, and I don't think he's ever seen me without a beard. It's not as black as it used to be, but it's still there.
The Cubs gave me a chance to play. They signed me as a free agent and brought me to the Major Leagues. The first day I walked into Wrigley Field was one of the best days of my life. And I owe them an awful lot.
I enjoy being out with the fans, I enjoy talking baseball, but to get up and tell my life story... I'm not comfortable doing that.
It's that way all the way down the line. I've got a boy coaching college ball and another son coaching high school. All the way down to summer leagues, all the way down to kids who are 14 years old. All those teams have a closer.
I was short with my fastball and breaking ball.
My first year in the big leagues, I made $17,000. It was easy to go out and get another $17,000 relief pitcher. I never worried about innings or pitches. I just pitched.
I'm basically a country person.
Goose Gossage is a friend of mine, and he's definitely a Hall of Fame pitcher in my mind.
The three most important pitches I threw in my life were all fastballs.
I could throw pretty hard. I might strike out 16 guys, but I might walk 10. I mean, I was wild.