Rick Sutcliffe

Infobox MLB retired
name=Rick Sutcliffe


width=120px
position=Starting pitcher
bats=Left
throws=Right
birthdate=birth date and age|1956|6|21
city-state|Independence| Missouri
debutdate=September 29
debutyear=by|1976
debutteam=Los Angeles Dodgers
finaldate=July 22
finalyear=by|1994
finalteam=St. Louis Cardinals
stat1label=Win-Loss Record
stat1value=171-139
stat2label=ERA
stat2value=4.08
stat3label=Strikeouts
stat3value=1,679
teams=
* Los Angeles Dodgers (by|1976,by|1978-by|1981)
* Cleveland Indians (by|1982-by|1984)
* Chicago Cubs (by|1984-by|1991)
* Baltimore Orioles (by|1992-by|1993)
* St. Louis Cardinals (by|1994)
highlights=
* 3x All-Star selection (1983, 1987, 1989)
* 1984 NL Cy Young
* 1979 NL Rookie of the Year
* 1987 Roberto Clemente Award
* 1987 Lou Gehrig Memorial Award
* 2x NL TSN Pitcher of the Year (1984, 1987)

Richard Lee Sutcliffe (born June 21, 1956 in Independence, Missouri) is a former Major League Baseball starting pitcher and current television sportscaster, nicknamed "The Red Baron" for his red hair and beard.

A right-hander, Sutcliffe was a three-time All-Star. He won the National League Rookie of the Year award in by|1979 and the National League Cy Young Award in by|1984.

MLB career

Early year and Rookie of the Year

Sutcliffe broke into the majors in 1979. He won 17 games for the Los Angeles Dodgers and was the first of four consecutive Rookies of the Year for the Dodgers from 1979-by|1982 (Steve Howe, Fernando Valenzuela, and Steve Sax were the others). The Dodgers traded Sutcliffe to the Cleveland Indians for Jorge Orta, a journeyman outfielder.

Chicago Cubs

Sutcliffe won 31 games over the course of the next two seasons for Cleveland and led the American League in earned run average in by|1982. In mid-by|1984, Cleveland traded a struggling Sutcliffe to the Chicago Cubs for Mel Hall and Joe Carter. Sutcliffe rebounded and won 16 games for the Cubs while losing only one, helping them to the division championship. On October 2, 1984, he started the first game of the NLCS against the San Diego Padres, giving up two hits and no runs, gaining not only the victory, but also hit a home run in the third inning. [ [http://www.retrosheet.org/boxesetc/1984/B10020CHN1984.htm Chicago Cubs 13, San Diego Padres 0] , Retrosheet.org, Retrieved on June 6, 2007.] Five days later, Sutcliffe pitched the final game of the series at Jack Murphy Stadium, but posted the loss after giving up four runs in the seventh inning. [ [http://www.retrosheet.org/boxesetc/1984/B10070SDN1984.htm San Diego Padres 6, Chicago Cubs 3] ,Retrosheet.com ,Retrieved on June 6, 2007.]

Rick won the Cy-Young Award with a unanimous vote, beating out Dwight Gooden and Bruce Sutter [ [http://www.baseball-reference.com/awards/awards_1984.shtml#NLcya 1984 National League Cy Young] , baseball-reference.com, Referenced on June 6, 2007.] He also finished fourth in the league MVP voting. When he re-signed with the Cubs as a free agent the following year, his contract briefly made him the highest-paid pitcher in baseball.

Sutcliffe started the by|1985 season strong, going 5-3 in his first eight starts, including two complete game shutouts. A hamstring pull on May 19 limited his starts for the year, followed by a series of arm injuries limited Sutcliffe's effectiveness over the next two seasons. In by|1987, he bounced back to win 18 games and finished second in the league's Cy Young voting.

In by|1989, Sutcliffe won 16 games and made his final All-Star appearance--Lasorda was the manager. He also helped the Cubs to another division title, but the Cubs lost to the San Francisco Giants in the playoffs.

Later years

Recurring arm injuries caused Sutcliffe to miss most of the by|1990 and by|1991 seasons and the Cubs did not offer him a contract for the next season. Signing with the Baltimore Orioles, Sutcliffe went 16-15 and 10-10 in by|1992 and by|1993, starting the first game at Oriole Park at Camden Yards. He wound up his career with the St. Louis Cardinals in by|1994, going 6-4 in an injury-plagued season. He retired with a career record of 171-139, with an ERA of 4.08. He holds the unique distinction of having won each of the following league awards, once each, and each in a different season: Rookie of the Year (1979), Cy Young Award (1984), ERA leader (1982), and Wins leader (1987).

Broadcasting

After his retirement from baseball, Sutcliffe became a color commentator for the San Diego Padres on Channel 4 San Diego (1997-2004) and ESPN (1998-present), as well as a minor-league pitching coach in the San Diego Padres system for a couple of seasons. He also broadcasts the World Series for MLB International, where he is teamed with Dave O'Brien, his usual ESPN partner.

On March 13th, 2008, Sutcliffe was diagnosed with "curable and "maintainable" colon cancer. He underwent chemotherapy and radiation treatments in his hometown of Kansas City during the spring of 2008 and returned to work with ESPN on May 21, 2008. He continues to maintain a positive attitude and credits this to his faith in Jesus, strong family encouragement, incredible friends and immense support all over the world. As a result of his trials, he has shown great interest in motivational speaking about overcoming trials through your faith for groups such as FCA.

Channel 4 Incident

On May 10th 2006, Sutcliffe – while under the influence of alcohol – unexpectedly entered the Channel 4 San Diego broadcast booth during a game between the San Diego Padres and Milwaukee Brewers and began a live, impromptu interview with broadcasters Matt Vasgersian and Mark Grant [http://nbcsports.msnbc.com/id/12745300/] . Initially unaware of Sutcliffe’s intoxication, Vasgersian and Grant welcomed Sutcliffe into the broadcast booth and began discussing many things with him while live on the air. The trio first talked about golf and actor Bill Murray, who was with Sutcliffe at the game. When the conversation turned to the subject of Sutcliffe’s daughter, Sutcliffe began to meander. “She’s on her way to Africa tomorrow. How about that? Over there on one of those missions, man. George Clooney — you been reading about all that, you been seeing that?” Confused, Vasgersian replied “George Clooney?” to which Sutcliffe responded, “Yeah, he’s up there with the Congress, he’s trying to get everybody to go over there and solve that thing.”

At one point during the interview, Sutcliffe then said “I’m getting yelled at from Bill Murray in the back. I need to go. I’d much rather hang with you guys.” As Grant thanked Sutcliffe for joining them and attempted to conclude the interview, Sutcliffe continued: “Mud (Grant), you’re the best, man. Anybody on Earth that doesn’t like Mark Grant, they’ve got problems.” Sutcliffe then asked Vasgersian, “Matty, what are you still doing here in San Diego?” As Vasgersian attempted divert the conversation back to baseball, Sutcliffe persisted and said “No, no, no, Matty — everybody on Earth has been trying to steal you — the Dodgers, the Cubs, ESPN. What are you still doing here?” It was at this point that Sutcliffe’s microphone was cut off and an off-screen voice can be heard saying, “They turned it off.”

After the game, it was reported that both Murray and Sutcliffe visited the Padres clubhouse [http://nbcsports.msnbc.com/id/12745300/] and upon seeing infielder Mark Bellhorn, Sutcliffe hugged him and remarked, "You were a [Chicago] cub!" before the two tumbled to the ground.

In reaction to this incident, Craig Nichols, general manager of Channel 4 called the incident "embarrassing" [http://nbcsports.msnbc.com/id/12745300/] and said "I’m embarrassed. I’m embarrassed for the Channel 4 team, and I’m embarrassed for the viewers." Nichols also stated that Sutcliffe “used remarkably poor judgment".

On May 11th 2006, Sutcliffe offered a written apology [http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=2442045] through ESPN. In his statement, Sutcliffe said "I appreciate the opportunity to address the situation that occurred last night in San Diego. While spending a week off in California, I planned a day of golf and attendance at a ball game as a fan with friends. I want to assure everyone that I was not drinking and driving. Towards the end of a long day on the golf course and evening at the game, I made a brief visit to my former co-workers in the Padres television broadcast booth. I was offered the opportunity to make a guest appearance on the air. At that time, I exercised bad judgment and accepted, even though I was not in optimum condition to go on live television. I regret that lapse in judgment and my decision and I sincerely apologize."

ee also

* List of Major League Baseball leaders in career wins
* List of Major League Baseball ERA champions
* List of Major League Baseball wins champions

References

External links

*baseballstats |mlb= |espn= |br=s/sutclri01 |fangraphs=1012734 |cube=S/rick-sutcliffe

succession box
title = National League Wins Champion
years = 1987
before = Fernando Valenzuela
after = Orel Hershiser & Danny Jackson
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