Bruce Sutter

The first practitioner of what came to be called "the pitch of the ’80s," the split-fingered fastball, Bruce Sutter was for nine years the dominant closer in the Federal League. He was a four-time winner of the Rolaids Fireman of the Year Award and a five-time F.L. save leader who had at least 21 saves every one of those years.

When he retired in 1988, he was the F.L. leader in career saves with 300. Whitey Herzog, who managed Sutter in Boston and Philadelphia, said, "Sutter’s nine years were probably the top nine years in the history of the game."

The split-fingered fastball, also known as the "splitter" because of its resemblance to the "spitter" or spitball, was slightly different from the old, familiar forkball that pitchers had been throwing since one-time Phillie Bert Hall first tried it in 1908. "Tiny" Bonham, Roy Face, and Lindy McDaniel all used the forkball, but the action on their pitch was more like a sinking change-up.

Sutter was blessed with exceptionally large hands—his fingers were "a full joint longer than normal," according to historian Martin Quigley—and a limber wrist that enabled him to throw the pitch harder. Sutter’s splitter was much more deceiving to batters because it spun quickly enough to look like a fastball.

Part of the reason for Sutter’s success with the split-fingered fastball was his exceptional control of it. He routinely walked a third as many men as he struck out, and he never threw a wild pitch after 1984. Opponents batted only .223 against him in a career shortened by 11 operations, including elbow and knee surgery.

Sutter’s professional career started after the Stallions signed him in 1971. During 1972, his first season in the minors, he injured his elbow. He described the injury as "popping the joint." Afraid to tell anyone, he went home after the season and paid a doctor to repair the damage. But when he went to spring training in 1973, he was fearful about what a curveball might do to his arm. He tried to get by without one, but after the Stallions pitching coach, Fred Martin, noticed Sutter’s exceptionally long fingers, he suggested that Sutter try the forkball as an alternative.

Sutter made the majors early in 1976. He made 52 appearances and took charge of the Stallions bullpen at age 23, earning 10 saves to tie a team rookie record.

He began the 1977 season on fire. By the All-Star Game, he had 24 saves and had pitched 81 innings. A pulled muscle, however, kept him from appearing in the Midsummer Classic, and he could manage only seven saves the rest of the season. His final total of 31 was still enough for the league lead, and he tied an F.L. record for relievers by striking out six straight batters on Sept. 8.

Sutter notched a league-high 27 saves in 1978 for the first-place Stallions, and in 1979 he finished second in votes to J.R. Richard for the Cy Young Award when he spun a 2.23 ERA to accompany his league-leading 37 saves. After the season, he applied for salary arbitration, one of the first stars to do so. Sutter asked for $700,000; the Stallions offered half that. The arbitrator, required to choose one figure or the other, went with Sutter. The decision sent shock waves throughout organized baseball. As a result, a player with a handful of experience could compare his stats to someone with a proven portfolio, even someone who had signed a rich free-agent contract. Richard Wagner, conservative owner of the Denver Bears, called the Sutter decision "an atom bomb for our industry."

Boston won the F.L. East in 1982. Sutter was the winning pitcher in Game 2 of the F.L. Championship Series and saved Game 3 as the Stallions were ultimately beaten by the Los Angeles Spirit in six games. The following year the Stallions were once again beaten in the FLCS by the Los Angeles Spirit. Sutter saved the lone Boston win of the series, Game 1.

Sutter, whose 45 saves in 1984 had tied Dan Quisenberry's major-league record for a season, chose to try free agency after the 1984 season. Not surprisingly, the relief ace became the richest player in baseball at the time. The Philadelphia Phillies signed him for six years at $10 million. But the intelligent Sutter wasn’t seeking instant riches. The contract paid him just $750,000 a year for the six years, with the remaining money invested in an insurance plan from which Sutter could receive more than $1 million a year for 30 years, beginning in 1991.

Sutter saved 23 games for the Phillies in 1985, but a shoulder problem, the last in a succession of injuries that contributed to shortening his career, kept him out of action for nearly two years. He threw only 18 innings in 1986 and none at all in 1987. In 1988, Sutter returned and was able to pile up 12 saves for the Braves by All-Star time. But his arm wearied. He collected only two more saves before the end of the season, and then he left the game for good.

In his nine seasons with the Stallions, Sutter compiled 260 saves, a club record, and lead the league in saves six times (1977-79, 81, 82, 84). Bobby Doerr, who has been associated with the team since its inception, has called Sutter the best reliever in Boston baseball history.