Bruce Sutter, a Hall of Fame reliever whose late-inning dominance carried the St. Louis Cardinals to a Game 7 win in the 1982 World Series and helped change baseball as teams embraced the role of hard-throwing closers, died Oct. 13 at a hospice in Cartersville, Ga. He was 69.
Mr. Sutter, with his signature split-finger fastball and bushy beard, rose to become one the game’s most effective relievers in the late 1970s and was the first pitcher enshrined in Cooperstown without starting a game.
He also was part of a shift in baseball with his aggressive, strikeout-heavy style and, for a time, a nearly unhittable splitter. Mr. Sutter was often called to pitch two or more innings in contrast to today’s mostly one-inning closers. But he and others, such as the Rollie Fingers and Sparky Lyle, heralded the rise of specialist relievers to punch out the last outs.
With the Atlanta Braves, Mr. Sutter got his 300th save in 1988, striking out future Hall of Famer Roberto Alomar in the 11th inning in a 5-4 win over the Padres in San Diego.
“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,” Major League Baseball’s commissioner, Robert Manfred, said in a statement.
Hitters knew Mr. Sutter would come at them with his splitter — which, at its best, looks like a fastball then drops off sharply at the plate — but still were often fooled and could do little more than flail at balls in the dirt. In 1979 with the Chicago Cubs, there was no question Mr. Sutter would be the National League’s Cy Young winner, finishing with 37 saves, an ERA of 2.22 in 62 appearances with 110 strikeouts.
That year included a game that has a special place in baseball’s statistic-laden lore.
On May 17, 1979, at Wrigley Field, the visiting Philadelphia Phillies went up 21-9. The Cubs clawed back to knot it 22-22. Mr. Sutter became the sixth Chicago pitcher at the top of the ninth, retiring the side after giving up a walk. He was back in the 10th, facing third-baseman Mike Schmidt. The count went full. Mr. Sutter went to a split finger. Schmidt belted it into the bleachers, putting the Phillies on top for good, 23-22.
“I didn’t even turn around to look at it,” Mr. Sutter told reporters later. “I knew exactly where it was going.”
Mr. Sutter’s right arm and shoulder took a beating, leading to surgeries and stretches on the disabled list. But it also gave him his signature pitch. He said he learned the split-finger technique from a minor league Cubs pitching coach while recovering from elbow surgery at age 20, years before his Major League debut in 1976.
“Without that pitch,” he said in 1981. “I’d be out of baseball.”
Gary Matthews, a National League journeyman player who often faced Mr. Sutter, described Mr. Sutter’s splitter as “devastating.”
“If you stayed off of it, he'd get a called strike. If you swung, you would miss,” Matthews told ESPN. “He perfected something; something new on the scene.”
When the Cardinals acquired Mr. Sutter in 1980, the expectations — and pressure — could not have been higher. A UPI sportswriter described Mr. Sutter’s right arm now joining the Gateway Arch and Municipal Opera as St. Louis’s “most valuable assets.”
In 1982, the Cardinals took the National League East pennant by 3 games and Mr. Sutter led the league with 36 saves. The Cards swept the Braves to face the Milwaukee Brewers in the World Series.
In Game 7, Mr. Sutter was called in at the top of the eighth with the Cardinals up 4-3. He shut down the side and St. Louis added two runs in the bottom of the inning. It was 6-3 with Mr. Sutter trying to nail down the team’s first Series win since 1967.
He snagged a bouncer by Milwaukee’s catcher, Ted Simmons, and tossed to first.
“One gone,” said the Cardinal’s radio broadcaster Jack Buck. “Two outs away. Sutter has retired four in a row.”
Left fielder Ben Oglivie was up next, who ground to second baseman Tom Herr. “Nice grab, Tommy,” said Buck.
Mr. Sutter next threw a splitter to center fielder Gorman Thomas, who swung and missed. The crowd started to chant “Sou, Sou,” for Mr. Sutter. Then a foul, strike, balls, more fouls. The count was 3-2 after nine pitches.
“Who’s in the bullpen? Nooobody,” said Buck. “Who’s in their seats? Nooobody.”
Mr. Sutter wound up for another pitch, his left glove angled back like a wing. It wasn’t a splitter this time.
“Sutter from the belt, to the plate,” said Buck as Mr. Sutter went with a high fastball. “A swing and a miss! And that’s a winner!”
Mr. Sutter jogged from the mound with his right hand thrust high. The team mobbed him. Fans stormed onto the field.
“It’s not good or bad, but closers have changed things,” Mr. Sutter told USA Today in 2005, looking back on his career and changes in baseball. “I don’t think you are going to win a World Series without one.”
'A true pioneer’
Howard Bruce Sutter was born Jan. 8, 1953, in Lancaster, Pa., and was a standout high school athlete. He briefly attended Old Dominion University before signing with the Chicago Cubs as an undrafted free agent in 1971.
Mr. Sutter debuted with the Cubs in May 1976 and made the National League’s All-Star team in each of the next five seasons. He played for the Cardinals from 1981 to 1984, making his sixth All-Star appearance in his final year with the team.
After Mr. Sutter was traded to Atlanta, he struggled with a rising ERA and nagging nerve trouble with his right shoulder. He had surgery at the end of the 1985 season, beginning a cycle of operations and slow recoveries. He missed the entire 1987 season and returned to make 38 appearances in 1988. He formally retired in 1989 after knee surgery.
“He was a true pioneer in the game,” Cardinals owner and chief executive Bill DeWitt Jr. said in a statement, “changing the role of the late-inning reliever.”
Mr. Sutter is survived by his wife of five decades Jayme Leigh; sons Josh, Chad and Ben; and six grandchildren.
During his career, Mr. Sutter wore No. 42, the same as the first Black Major Leaguer, Jackie Robinson, and a number retired from all of baseball in 1997. During Mr. Sutter’s induction to the Hall of Fame in 2006, he was joined by 17 former Negro League players and others from the race-barrier era also being enshrined.
Baseball greats Johnny Bench and Ozzie Smith wore costume beards, long and gray, in Mr. Sutter’s honor.
