Howard “Bruce” Sutter, Hall of Fame closer and the 1979 National League Cy Young Award winner, has passed away at the age of 69.
The Baseball Hall of Fame stated Sutter died Thursday in Cartersville, Georgia. The Sutter family did not give a cause of death in their statement, which was released Friday.
“All our father ever wanted to be remembered as was being a great teammate, but he was so much more than that,” the statement read. “He 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.”
Sutter is thought of as one of the founding fathers of the split-finger fastball. The right-hander played a dozen seasons in the major leagues, was a six-time All-Star and ended his career with 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 Senior Circuit 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, and received the Rolaids Relief Man Award four times. His career ended in 1988 after pitching in three seasons for the Atlanta Braves.
MLB commissioner Rob Manfred said in a statement he was “deeply saddened” by the news.
“Bruce 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,” Manfred said in a statement. “Bruce will be remembered as one of the best pitchers in the histories of two of our most historic franchises.”
Sutter made his major league debut with the Chicago Cubs in the 1976 campaign. The reliever won the NL Cy Young in 1979 in a season in which he had 37 saves, a 2.22 ERA and 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.
Then he joined the St. Louis Cardinals and played with the team 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. There, he helped capture a World Series in 1982, ending Game 7 against the Milwaukee Brewers with a ‘K’.
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.
“Being a St. Louis Cardinal was an honor he cherished deeply,” the Sutter family’s statement read. “To 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.”
His final save, No. 300, came with the Atlanta Braves in 1988. His career ended in 1988 after pitching in three seasons for the Atlanta Braves. Sutter was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 2006.
“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,” Cardinals owner and CEO Bill DeWitt Jr. said in a statement. “He was a true pioneer in the game, changing the role of the late inning reliever.”
Sutter was born in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, in January 1953. The Baseball Hall of Fame said in a release that he learned the split-finger fastball from a Cubs minor league pitching instructor while rehabbing from surgery on his right elbow.
The Cardinals said Sutter is survived by his wife, Jayme, sons Josh, Chad and Ben; daughter-in-law Amanda Sutter, and his six grandchildren.
“I feel like a brother passed away,” Hall of Famer Jim Kaat said. “I 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.”
