MLB Hall of Famer Don Sutton Dies at Age 75

MLB Hall of Fame pitcher Don Sutton died in his sleep Monday night. He was 75. 

His son, Daron, announced the news on Twitter:

Sutton spent 23 years as an MLB player between the Los Angeles Dodgers (1966-80, 1988), Houston Astros (1981-82), Milwaukee Brewers (1982-84), Oakland Athletics (1985), and California Angels (1985-87). He went 324-256 in his career with a 3.26 ERA, 1.14 WHIP and 3,574 strikeouts. 

A four-time All-Star, Sutton is 14th all-time in wins, seventh in innings pitched (5,282.1), seventh in strikeouts, third in starts (756) and 10th in shutouts (58). 

He was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1998.

The tributes to Sutton came pouring in following the news of his death:

After his playing career he spent time as a broadcaster with the Dodgers, Atlanta Braves and Washington Nationals.

He kept some excellent company in his career, joining a Dodgers pitching staff in 1966 that also included Hall of Famers Sandy Koufax and Don Drysdale and All-Star Claude Osteen. Sutton perhaps didn't have the otherworldly talent of other Hall of Fame pitchers, but he made up for it with guile. 

"They called Whitey Ford crafty, and that's what I felt I had to be," Sutton once told reporters, invoking the New York Yankees pitcher he had idolized as a child. 

He clearly succeeded in that effort.