The Washington Nationals finally gained a Hall of Fame pitcher. Too bad he’s 61.
Don Sutton joins the MASN booth as the color analyst following 17 years in Atlanta. The former Los Angeles Dodgers great won 324 games and broke regional fans’ hearts late in his career by eliminating the Baltimore Orioles on the final day of the 1984 season with Milwaukee.
The Nats now have a counterpart to Jim Palmer analyzing the Orioles on MASN. It’s appropriate MASN hired a pitcher given the Nats staff will decide whether the team avoids a 100-loss season. The mound is so empty Charlie Brown might get a shot in the rotation. When John Patterson is considered by far the team’s best hurler after throwing just eight games last year, you know the mound is more open than the U.S. southern borders.
As the Nats begin their fan caravan in the District, Sutton doesn’t think the season is automatically a loser. Check out the first few weeks of spring training before worrying, he said. Maybe a few of the prospects will open strong.
“It’s a casting call for who wants to step up,” Sutton said. “They should come in ready. It shouldn’t be hard to find out who wants to start. If they get some good innings, if four or five guys come to play, there’s no reason to expect them to lose 100 games.”
Sutton was the antithesis of today’s pitchers, who are wrongly cheered for lasting past the fifth inning or not allowing more than four runs. He started at least 30 games in 18 of 23 seasons, including 34 in 1987 at age 42, while averaging more than seven innings. His earned run average was three runs or less in eight seasons.
Training in the minors is the difference with current pitchers, Sutton said. They’re being pulled during early trouble for a specialist instead of learning to escape.
“We’ve lowered our expectations and expect six innings and three runs,” he said. “We don’t do anything in the minors to teach them to cope. A guy gets in a jam in the fifth [he’s gone.] Let’s teach him to get out of a game.”
Sutton said reports that he might help with pitchers are exaggerated, though he’s available if asked.
“If [pitching coach] Randy [St. Claire] says, ‘Would I come by to see a pitcher?’ I would be flattered,” Sutton said. “But anything comes through him. I would never impose. I did lose 200 ballgames.”
Actually 256, but who’s counting?
Bob Uecker used to call wild pitches in the stands “just a bit outside” in the “Major League” movies. Sutton says he’s a little more honest over a team’s struggles, but doesn’t personalize his commentary.
“I’m not a homer, but I don’t criticize people personally,” he said. “We’re going to see something positive. I think we’re going to have a lot of fun.”
Meanwhile, Sutton is already planning summer tourist trips around Washington when his family arrives from Rancho Mirage, Calif. You might see the Suttons in line for the White House tour or staring at the Lincoln Memorial.
“Lots of cities call themselves the center,” Sutton said, “but this is the center of the country.”
Rick Snider has covered local sports since 1978. Contact him at [email protected]
