Bruce Sutter, Cardinals Legend and MLB Hall of Famer, Dies at Age 69

Baseball Hall of Famer Bruce Sutter has died at the age of 69.

The St. Louis Cardinals issued a statement on Twitter about Sutter's death on Friday:

Sutter was originally selected by the Washington Senators in the 21st round of the 1970 Major League Baseball draft. He was unable to sign with the club because he hadn't yet graduated from high school.

After a brief stint in college at Old Dominion and on semi-pro baseball teams, Sutter signed with the Chicago Cubs as an amateur free agent in September 1971.

Working his way through the minors, Sutter helped popularize the split-finger fastball before he was called up to the big leagues by the Cubs in May 1976.

Sutter spent the first five seasons of his career with Chicago, posting two top-10 NL MVP finishes and winning the NL Cy Young award in 1979. He finished the '79 campaign with a 2.22 ERA, MLB-best 37 saves and 110 strikeouts over 101.1 innings in 62 appearances.

The Cubs traded Sutter to the Cardinals in December 1980. The right-handed closer continued to dominate opposing hitters over the next two seasons. He led the MLB with 36 saves and helped St. Louis defeat the Milwaukee Brewers to win the 1982 World Series.

The 1984 season marked the end of Sutter's peak as an MLB player. He led the league in saves and posted a 1.54 ERA in 71 games, and finished third in NL Cy Young voting and sixth in NL MVP voting.

Sutter signed with the Atlanta Braves as a free agent prior to the 1985 season. He dealt with a series of injuries over the next four years before retiring after being released by Atlanta in November 1989.

In 12 MLB seasons with three different teams, Sutter was named to the NL All-Star team six times and led the league in saves five times from 1979 to 1984. His 300 saves were the most by an NL pitcher until Lee Smith broke the mark in 1993.

Sutter was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 2006, his 13th time appearing on the ballot. He has also been inducted into the Cubs and Cardinals Hall of Fames. The Cardinals also retired the No. 42 twice for Sutter and Jackie Robinson.