Editing Rick Sutcliffe (section)

==MLB career==

===Early years and Rookie of the Year===
Sutcliffe attended [[Van Horn High School (Missouri)|Van Horn High School]] in [[Independence, Missouri]] where he received All-American honors as an infielder.<ref>{{Cite web |title=1974 ABCA/Rawlings High School All-America Teams |url=https://www.abca.org/ABCA/ABCA/Awards/All-Americans/High_School/1974.aspx |access-date=2023-04-17 |website=www.abca.org |language=en}}</ref> Sutcliffe was the 21st pick in [[1974 Major League Baseball draft|1974 amateur draft]] by the [[Los Angeles Dodgers]]. Sutcliffe's first full season in the majors was 1979.<ref name=bp>{{cite web|title= Biography Rick Sutcliffe|url= http://www.thebaseballpage.com/players/sutclri01/bio|work= The Baseball Page|access-date= October 7, 2015|url-status= dead|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20151011070731/http://www.thebaseballpage.com/players/sutclri01/bio|archive-date= October 11, 2015}}</ref> He won 17 games for the Dodgers and was the first of four consecutive [[Major League Baseball Rookie of the Year Award|Rookies of the Year]] for the [[Los Angeles Dodgers|Dodgers]] from 1979&ndash;{{Baseball year|1982}} ([[Steve Howe (baseball)|Steve Howe]], [[Fernando Valenzuela]], and [[Steve Sax]] were the others).<ref name=bp/><ref>{{cite web |title=Dodgers Steve Sax named top rookie |url= https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1665&dat=19821123&id=r59PAAAAIBAJ&pg=6486,3255812&hl=en|work= [[Times-News (Hendersonville, North Carolina)]] |date= November 23, 1982}}</ref> Sutcliffe had a rough 1980 for the team; near the end of the season, he was told by [[Pete Rose]] that he'd been tipping his pitches.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://sabr.org/bioproj/person/rick-sutcliffe/#_ednref19 | title=Rick Sutcliffe – Society for American Baseball Research }}</ref> Sutcliffe improved in 1981, a year in which the Dodgers went on to win the World Series. Although Sutcliffe did not appear on the Dodgers' roster for their [[1981 World Series]] championship run, he was awarded a World Series ring by the team.<ref name="j585">{{cite web | last=Garrity | first=John | title=The Trade That Made The Cubs | website=Sports Illustrated Vault | date=1984-09-03 | url=https://vault.si.com/vault/1984/09/03/the-trade-that-made-the-cubs#:~:text=The%20trade%20that%20brought%20Sutcliffe,of%20Chicago's%20slickest%20moves%20ever. | access-date=2025-01-26}}</ref> Sutcliffe, angry at Dodgers' manager [[Tommy Lasorda]], whom he accused of lying to him, publicly demanded a trade. (Years later, the two reconciled.)<ref>{{cite web | url=https://sabr.org/bioproj/person/rick-sutcliffe/#_ednref19 | title=Rick Sutcliffe – Society for American Baseball Research }}</ref> After the season, Sutcliffe was traded, along with [[Jack Perconte]], to the [[Cleveland Indians]] for journeyman outfielder [[Jorge Orta]], plus [[Jack Fimple]] and [[Larry White (baseball)|Larry White]].<ref>{{cite web |title=30th anniversary: Dodgers trade Sutcliffe away |author= Chris Jaffe|url= http://www.hardballtimes.com/tht-live/30th-anniversary-dodgers-trade-sutcliffe-away/|work= [[The Hardball Times]] |date=December 9, 2011}}</ref><ref>{{cite web | url=https://sabr.org/bioproj/person/rick-sutcliffe/#_ednref19 | title=Rick Sutcliffe – Society for American Baseball Research }}</ref>

===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 {{MLBy|1982}}. In mid-{{MLBy|1984}}, Cleveland traded a struggling Sutcliffe to the [[Chicago Cubs]] for [[Mel Hall]] and [[Joe Carter]]. Sutcliffe rebounded and won 16 games for the Cubs while losing only one, helping them to the division championship. On October 2, 1984, he started the first game of the [[1984 National League Championship Series|NLCS]] against the [[1984 San Diego Padres season|San Diego Padres]], giving up two hits and no runs, not only gaining the victory, but also hitting a home run in the third inning.<ref>[http://www.retrosheet.org/boxesetc/1984/B10020CHN1984.htm Chicago Cubs 13, San Diego Padres 0], Retrosheet.org, Retrieved on June 6, 2007.</ref> Five days later, Sutcliffe pitched the final game of the series at [[Jack Murphy Stadium]], but posted the loss after giving up four runs in the seventh inning.<ref>[http://www.retrosheet.org/boxesetc/1984/B10070SDN1984.htm San Diego Padres 6, Chicago Cubs 3], Retrosheet.com, Retrieved on June 6, 2007.</ref>

Sutcliffe won the Cy Young Award with a unanimous vote, beating out [[Dwight Gooden]] and [[Bruce Sutter]].<ref>[https://www.baseball-reference.com/awards/awards_1984.shtml#NLcya 1984 National League Cy Young], baseball-reference.com, Referenced on June 6, 2007.</ref> 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.

Sutcliffe started the {{MLBy|1985}} season strong, going 5–3 in his first eight starts, including two complete-game shutouts. A hamstring pull on May 19 limited his starts for the year, followed by a series of arm injuries which would limit Sutcliffe's effectiveness over the next two seasons. In {{Baseball year|1987}}, he bounced back to win 18 games and finished second in the league's Cy Young voting to [[Steve Bedrosian]] despite playing for a last-place Cubs team which also featured National League [[Major League Baseball Most Valuable Player|Most Valuable Player]] [[Andre Dawson]]. He also was presented 1987's [[Roberto Clemente Award]], 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 [[1988 Philadelphia Phillies season|Phillies]], in which he also notched the victory. In {{MLBy|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 [[1989 San Francisco Giants season|San Francisco Giants]] in the [[1989 National League Championship Series|playoffs]].

===Later years===
Recurring arm injuries caused Sutcliffe to miss most of the {{Baseball year|1990}} and {{Baseball year|1991}} seasons and the Cubs did not offer him a contract for the next season. Signing with the [[Baltimore Orioles]], Sutcliffe went 16&ndash;15 and 10&ndash;10 in {{Baseball year|1992}} and {{Baseball year|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 {{MLBy|1994}},<ref name="Naples">{{Citation| last =| first =| year =1994| title =Bo officially an Angel| publisher=The Naples Daily News| publication-place = web | page=| url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/802046534/?terms=%22matt%20cammuso%22%20tulane| access-date = 13 March 2023}}</ref> going 6–4 in an injury-plagued season. He retired with a career record of 171&ndash;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). Sutcliffe also has the distinction of being the pitcher who faced all-time MLB home run leader [[Barry Bonds]] the most times without giving up a home run once, with 51 plate appearances between the two.

===Non-pitching statistics===
As a hitter, Sutcliffe was above average for a pitcher. He posted a .181 [[batting average (baseball)|batting average]] (102-for-562) with 42 [[run (baseball)|runs]], 4 [[home runs]], 55 [[Run batted in|RBI]], 4 [[stolen bases]] and 34 [[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.