Cleveland Indians for Jorge Orta, a journeyman outfielder, on December 9, 1981.[5]
Chicago Cubs
Sutcliffe won 31 games over the course of the next two seasons for Cleveland and led the American League in earned run average in
Jack Murphy Stadium, but posted the loss after giving up four runs in the seventh inning.[7]
Sutcliffe won the Cy Young Award with a unanimous vote, beating out Dwight Gooden and Bruce Sutter.[8] He also finished fourth in the league MVP voting. When he re-signed with the Cubs as a free agent the following year, his contract briefly made him the highest-paid pitcher in baseball.
, given annually to a Major League player who demonstrates sportsmanship and community involvement.
On July 29, 1988, in Philadelphia, Sutcliffe achieved one of baseball's rarest feats, especially for a pitcher, by stealing home plate during an 8–3 win over the Phillies, in which he also notched the victory. In 1989, Sutcliffe won 16 games and made his final All-Star appearance, where he was managed once again by Tommy Lasorda. He also helped the Cubs to another division title, but the Cubs lost to the San Francisco Giants in the playoffs.
Later years
Recurring arm injuries caused Sutcliffe to miss most of the 1990 and 1991 seasons and the Cubs did not offer him a contract for the next season. Signing with the Baltimore Orioles, Sutcliffe went 16–15 and 10–10 in 1992 and 1993, starting the first game at Oriole Park at Camden Yards. He ended his career by signing a one-year minor league contract with the St. Louis Cardinals in 1994,[9] going 6–4 in an injury-plagued season. He retired with a career record of 171–139, with an ERA of 4.08. He holds the unique distinction of having won each of the following league awards, once each, and each in a different season: Rookie of the Year (1979), Cy Young Award (1984), ERA leader (1982), and wins leader (1987).
Non-pitching statistics
As a hitter, Sutcliffe was above average for a pitcher. He posted a .181
bases on balls
. He had a career-high 17 RBI in 1979 as a member of the Dodgers. In eight postseason games, he hit .500 (4-for-8) with 1 run, 1 double, 1 home run and 1 RBI.
Defensively, he was above average, recording a .973 fielding percentage which was 19 points higher than the league average at his position.
After his retirement from baseball, Sutcliffe was the pitching coach for the
Channel 4 San Diego
from 1998 to 2004.
Sutcliffe has served as an analyst for ESPN since 1998, when he served as a guest analyst for ESPN Radio’s coverage of that seasons MLB playoffs. He joined the network full-time in March 1999 and has appeared on Wednesday Night Baseball since 2002. ESPN announced that they had signed a multi-year extension with Sutcliffe in late 2018;[10] he continues to be the lead analyst for their Wednesday Night Baseball coverage.[11] Sutcliffe has also provided commentary for international coverage of the World Series via DirecTV/MLB International (1997–2002 and since 2010).
On March 13, 2008, Sutcliffe was diagnosed with "curable and maintainable"
colon cancer. He underwent chemotherapy and radiation therapy in his hometown of Kansas City during the spring of 2008 and returned to work with ESPN on May 21, 2008. He continues to maintain a positive attitude and credits this to his faith, family encouragement, friends, and support from fans. He also is a motivational speaker for the Fellowship of Christian Athletes