Don Sutton

[Jopal78]

Why doesn't Don Sutton have more recognition around the Brewers franchise. They have flags for their other three Hall of Famers (Yount, Molitor, and Fingers). Like Sutton, Rollie Fingers played the majority of his career with other teams. Sutton started 71 games for the Brewers including 2 of their 7 world series games.

[djoctagone]

don't forget that his son, daron, was a brewers broadcaster for five seasons.

[MadScientist]

Fingers was with the Brewers for 5 years (one injured and didn't pitch) and was outstanding in 3 of them, including a Cy Young and MVP in 81.

Sutton was with the Brewers for 2.5 years, was a .500 pitcher, and the Brewers lost both of the WS games he started. Not worth immortalizing.

[yfinn6]

don't forget that his son, daron, was a brewers broadcaster for five seasons.

 

Yeah, I haven't forgotten; I was close, so thank you.

[dlk9s]

He also insulted me on live radio.

 

I was in the first row of the upper deck at a Braves game years ago. A foul ball came my way - I had to reach over the rail for it and I wasn't about to risk my life, so I wasn't quite able to make the grab. A man sitting behind me came back from the restroom a couple minutes later and his wife told him he just missed the excitement, that I had almost caught a foul ball.

 

His response, "Aah, that was here? Don Sutton said a fan booted one."

 

SCREW YOU, DON SUTTON!

[reillymcshane]

I think it was simply time in Milwaukee and impact.

 

Sutton was here only a little more than two years. Just not that long of a time. And he was on the tail end of his career when in Milwaukee. It's not like he was a Cy Young candidate while pitching for us. Yes, he was good, but not great.

 

Fingers was in Milwaukee for five seasons (one of those years he was injured, so he only played four years with the Brewers), but won an MVP and a Cy Young while here, and was an all-star twice.

 

The two had different personalities as well. Fingers just had a charisma to him that made people love the guy.

[TURBO]

Had Fingers been healthy enough to pitch in the world series for us, we might have a World Champion banner hanging in Miller Park.

 

[stalton]

I liken him to Hoffman. Granted, Hoffman's 2nd year was not good to say the least but even though Trevor was inducted into the HOF, it wasn't because of his time in Milwaukee.

[reillymcshane]

Had Fingers been healthy enough to pitch in the world series for us, we might have a World Champion banner hanging in Miller Park.

 

Correct.

 

Game 2, we lost 5-4. In the 8th, Pete Ladd walked two straight batters - walking in the winning run. Fingers doesn't do that. Now, there's no guarantee we would have ultimately won the game. But it's unlikely we give away a run at that time if Fingers is available.

 

Game 7, we lost 6-3. We gave 3 runs in the 6th, and 2 more in 8th. I don't know if Fingers would have mattered here, since it was still early - but you never know.

[JohnBriggs12]

I'm very ambivalent about Sutton. I think they still had enough to win the division without giving up their number one prospect at the time, Kevin Bass and a promising LH pitcher in Frank DiPino and he didn't pitch all that great in September. In his last 5 regular season starts in 1982, he got 53 runs from the Brewer offense. He did win a big one to turn around the series vs. the Angels but he was awful in the World Series. Haas had struggled in a couple starts leading up to that trade so essentially Sutton replaced Haas in the rotation, though Haas was very good the entire month of September in 2 spot starts and 4 relief appearances. Sutton was a huge reason they didn't repeat in 83, winning just one game after July 14.

 

Brewer's Of in 83 was pathetic. Oglivie started going downhill with just 13 HR. Gorman got off to a horrendous start and was traded for Manning who couldn't handle the pressure of replacing a folk hero, and Charlie Moore who was a backup catcher with little power starting in the corner OF. Bass might not have been quite ready to help in 83, but he likely would have played everyday and he was an All Star by 86.

[rickh150]

Had Fingers been healthy enough to pitch in the world series for us, we might have a World Champion banner hanging in Miller Park.

 

 

 

Or we wouldn't have gotten to the WS. Ladd pitched very well in the ALCS to get us there.

[rickh150]

Sutton allowed 1982 to be 1982 in Milwaukee, WI. He won two big playoff games for us in Baltimore and in Milwaukee-Game 3 ALCS. More than that, we needed his presence and innings in September just to get to the playoffs.