Two Don Sutton narratives kinda died over time, but if you were around in those days (as I was for both), and if you were a Dodgers fan, you took notice.
In 1978, he got in a fistfight with fellow Dodgers star Steve Garvey. Sutton saw Garvey as an image-obsessed grandstander. He was also annoyed that quiet Reggie Smith was having a better season than Garvey, while Garvey got all of the credit because of his carefully cultivated image. Garvey, on the other hand, felt that Sutton was jealous of him. Sutton had a strong career going,
but couldn't crack the 20-win mark (a big deal in those days), and wasn't considered a superstar. Also, unlike Garvey, Sutton wasn't particularly good looking or charismatic. He was just a good pitcher who went out there and usually won, but the Dodgers weren't defined by his presence.
In reality, both men were correct. Sutton was indeed jealous of Garvey, but Garvey was also a showboater who wasn't quite what he seemed. Over time, Sutton would end up somewhat vindicated, as he made the Hall of Fame (barely) while Garvey didn't. Sutton pitched until age 43, while Garvey was out of baseball before he turned 38. Additionally, Garvey's carefully cultivated "Mr. Clean" image was shattered when it came out that he routinely cheated on his wife, and fathered kids out of wedlock.
I remember this fight. I was 6 years old, and heard that Sutton and Garvey had gotten into it in the locker room. When I asked my mom about it, she said, "Don Sutton is jealous of Steve Garvey."
http://opinionofkingmansperformance....l-in-1978.html
Speaking of Sutton's age, a lesser-known story (and one not told in today's articles about him, from what I've seen) involved his final baseball season, in 1988. Many don't realize that Sutton was still pitching in 1988, as his first full season in the Majors was 1966 -- now 55 years ago! However, indeed Sutton pitched in 1988, signing back with the Dodgers after the Angels didn't re-up him at age 43. Sutton had last pitched with the Dodgers in 1980 -- the team where he spent his first 15 seasons.
Sutton wasn't awful -- he was 3-6 with a 3.87 ERA and 1.385 WHIP. His K/BB ration was 44/30. Back in those days, when pitching numbers were better than today, that was worse than it looks through a modern lens. More importantly, Sutton hadn't won a game in 3 months, and it seemed like he was always pitching just badly enough to lose. The Dodgers were in a pennant race, and were optimistic about 1988, after two disappointing seasons in 1986 and 1987. They decided they needed a bit more punch on the pitching staff, so they brought up 20-year-old Ramon Martinez, a top prospect who was thought to perhaps be a future Hall of Famer, to replace him. Sutton was released.
Sutton was bitter about this, and then he became incredibly bitter when the Dodgers went on to win the World Series. This would have been a perfect end to his career. Instead, he was released from the team that signed him, just two months before that team would win it all.
He held a grudge against the Dodgers and wanted nothing to do with them, and eventually signed a deal to do announcing for the Braves, which generally received positive reviews.
In his later years, Sutton softened on the Dodgers, and somewhat made up with the team.
Of course, the highly praised Ramon Martinez was a different story. He could never quite reach lofty expectations, being a good-but-not-great member of the Dodgers staff, before they finally let him go after the 1998 season. After a disappointing 2-year stint in Boston, and a disasterous 4-game attempt with the Pirates, he was out of baseball after just turning 33. He finished with an ERA of 4.01.
Ramon had two brothers, also in the Dodgers system. Younger brother Pedro had a great first season in 1993, but was judged "too small" to be a durable and successful starting pitcher, so they shipped him away. Oops. Even younger brother Jesus Martinez never pitched in the Majors.
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Originally Posted by badguy23
