Sutcliffe, "Rick" (Richard L.)
Baseball
b. June 21, 1956, Independence, MO
A 6-foot-7, 240-pound right-hander, Sutcliffe was with the Los Angeles Dodgers for a total of just 3 games in 1976 and 1978. He became a starter in 1979 and was named rookie of the year by the Baseball Writers' Association of America and rookie pitcher of the year by The Sporting News after compiling a 17-10 record with a 3.46 ERA.
He slumped badly to 3-9 and a 5.56 ERA in 1980 and spent much of the 1981 season on the disabled list with a sore arm. The Dodgers traded him to the Cleveland Indians in 1982, when he rebounded to lead the league with a 2.96 ERA.
Sutcliffe had a 4-5 record early in the 1984 season, when he was traded to the Chicago Cubs. With Chicago, he won the National League's Cy Young Award, taking 16 of 17 decisions to lead the league with a .941 winning percentage, and he had a 2.69 ERA and 3 shutouts.
Recurring arm trouble then began to bother Sutcliffe. After winning just 13 games in 1985 and 1986, he bounced back to lead the league in victories with an 18-10 record in 1987, winning the National League Comeback Player of the Year Award. He went 13-14 and 16-11 the next two years and then spent much of the 1990 and 1991 seasons on the disabled list and on rehabilitation assignment to the minor leagues.
The AL's Baltimore Orioles signed him as a free agent in 1992, when he went 16-15 to wint the American League Comeback Player of the Year Award. He had a 10-10 record for Baltimore in 1993. After going 6-4 for the St. Louis Cardinals in 1994, Sutcliffe retired.
Sutcliffe has done considerable television analysis since his retirement and he's also active in the Fellowship of Christian Athletes.