Former St. Louis Cardinals relief pitcher and Hall of Famer Bruce Sutter famous for the split-finger technique died on Thursday in Cartersville, Georgia, at the age of 69, know his cause of death
Major League Baseball and the St. Louis Cardinals gave the official announcement about Sutter’s death on Friday, Oct. 14, 2022.
MLB Hall Of Famer Bruce Sutter Dead, Cause Of Death, Obituary, Age, Biography, Family, MLB Career Stats, Net Worth 2022, News
According to one of Sutter’s three sons, Chad, Sutter was recently diagnosed with cancer and he was admitted in the hospital surrounded by his family.
Sutter is a six-time All-Star, and led the National League in saves for five years and won the 1979 Cy Young Award.
Bruce Sutter Life And Career
Sutter was born in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, in 1953. He was initially drafted by the Washington Senators in the 21st round in 1970. However, he was only 17 then and too young to sign.
Sutter made his debut with the Cubs in 1976. He won the Cy Young in 1979 in a season where he had 37 saves, 2.22 ERA and 110 strikeouts. Sutter was 68-71 with a 2.83 ERA overall.
In 661 games, he pitched 1,042 innings and struck out 861. He pitched for the Cardinals from 1981-84.
Sutter finished with three seasons in Atlanta. Throughout his 12-year career with the Chicago Cubs, St. Louis Cardinals and Atlanta Braves, Sutter made 300 saves. His last save, came with the Braves in 1988.
Sutter played in an era when closers routinely got more than three outs. He threw more than one inning for 188 of his saves and five times pitched more than 100 innings in a season.
During his prime, he tossed two perfect innings to finish off the Cardinals’ Game 7 win over Milwaukee in the 1982 World Series.
Sutter was the fourth reliever to be elected to the Hall, after Hoyt Wilhelm, Rollie Fingers and Dennis Eckersley.
The Split-Fingered Fastball
Bruce Sutter is popularly known for his split-fingered fastball technique. Interestingly, when Bruce Sutter was just hoping to save his career when he started experimenting with it.
It all started when a Cubs scout spotted him after he returned from a brief college stint at Old Dominion. Sutter was then pitching for the semi-pro Hippey’s Raiders in the Lebanon Valley League.
After signing up for the Cubs, Sutter pitched twice for the team in the rookie Gulf Coast League in 1972. However, he injured his right elbow while trying to learn a slider.
Sutter feared that the Cubs would cut him if they found out about his injury. So, Sutter scheduled his own surgery and used his bonus money to pay for the operation.
Following the operation, Sutter was unable to throw as hard as he could previously. But luckily, Sutter had the good fortune to learn the split-fingered fastball from Cubs minor league pitching instructor Fred Martin at spring training in 1973.
Sutter once said:
Nobody was throwing what he called the split-finger.
It was a pitch that didn’t change how the game was played, but developed a new way to get hitters out.
Everybody who throws the split-fingered fastball owes a great deal of thanks to Fred Martin (who died in 1979) because he was the first one to teach it.
It came to me easy, but it took a long time to learn how to control it,” Sutter said. “I could throw pretty hard. I might strike out 16 guys, but I might walk 10.
In the Split-Fingered fastball, a player holds the ball between the index and middle fingers. Once thrown, the ball would suddenly dip as it approaches the plate.
Condolence Messages
MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred said he was “deeply saddened” by the news.
Manfred stated:
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.
Bruce will be remembered as one of the best pitchers in the histories of two of our most historic franchises.
Braves manager Brian Snitker said before Friday’s NL Division Series game at Philadelphia.
We lost a good friend last night in Bruce Sutter.
Cardinals owner and CEO Bill DeWitt Jr. said in a statement:
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.
He was a true pioneer in the game, changing the role of the late inning reliever.
The Cardinals retired Sutter’s No. 42 years after MLB retired the number in honor of Jackie Robinson.
Sutter’s Family Speaks Out
Bruce’s son Chad Sutter shared how the team victories counted most to Sutter.
He stated:
I mean, he won all these awards and all this stuff and they weren’t even hung out in the house because all he cared about was winning and being respected by the other players and being a good teammate. That was his whole motivation,”
Sutter is survived by his wife, three sons, a daughter-in-law and six grandkids with his net worth at $10 million.