Don Sutton

Donald Howard Sutton (born April 2, 1945) is a former Major League Baseball right-handed pitcher and current radio sportscaster. He was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1998.

Biography
Sutton was born in Clio, Alabama, a small town in Barbour County, and on the same date as future Dodger teammate Reggie Smith. He was born to sharecroppers at the end of World War II, in a tar-paper shack. At the time Sutton was born his father was 18 and his mother was 15. Sutton's father, Howard, gave him the strong work ethic that he had throughout his career. His father tried logging and construction work, and in looking for work, moved the family to Molino, Florida, just north of Pensacola.

Sutton attended J. M. Tate High School in Cantonment/Gonzalez, Florida where he played baseball, basketball, and football. He led his baseball team to the small-school state finals two years in row, winning his junior year, 1962, and losing 2–1 in his senior year, and was named all-county, all-conference, and all-state for both of those seasons. He graduated in 1963, and was voted "Most Likely to Succeed". He wanted to attend the University of Florida, but then coach Dave Fuller was not interested. Instead he attended Gulf Coast Community College in Panama City, Florida for one year, and then after a good summer league, was signed by the Dodgers.

Sutton played for the Sioux Falls Packers as a minor leaguer, and entered the major league at the age of 21. Sutton's major league debut was on April 14, 1966, the same day that future 300-game winner Greg Maddux was born. In the majors, he played 23 years for the Los Angeles Dodgers, Houston Astros, Milwaukee Brewers, Oakland Athletics, and California Angels. He won a total of 324 games, 58 of them shutouts and five of them one-hitters, and he is seventh on baseball's all-time strikeout list with 3,574 K's. He also holds the major league record for number of consecutive losses to one team, having lost 13 straight games to the Chicago Cubs.

Sutton was a four-time All-Star. He also holds the dubious distinction of being the player with the most at-bats without a home run (1,354). When asked how close he ever came to hitting a home run, he deadpanned, "A triple." Sutton holds another unlucky record: seven times in his career, he pitched nine scoreless innings but got a no-decision.

In 2002, Sutton was diagnosed with kidney cancer resulting in the removal of his left kidney. Part of a lung was removed the following year. While undergoing cancer treatment, he continued his broadcasting career.

Broadcasting career
Sutton started his broadcasting career in 1989, splitting duties between Dodgers cable telecasts on Z Channel and Atlanta Braves telecasts on TBS. The following year he became a full-time commentator for the Braves, a position that he held through 2006. He left TBS after the 2006 season, mainly because the network would broadcast fewer games in 2007 and had to cut back on the number of broadcasters.

Sutton was a color commentator for the Washington Nationals on the MASN network until January 27, 2009. Sutton still had two years remaining on his contract with the Nationals, but when an Atlanta Braves radio job opened up, he negotiated his release in order to return to Atlanta where he had many ties and to be closer to his boyhood home in Alabama. His current broadcast partner is Jim Powell, who joined the Braves Radio Network in 2009.

Sutton is an avid golfer and wine enthusiast and frequently makes references to these hobbies while broadcasting.

Sutton has also broadcast golf and served as a pre- and post-game analyst for NBC's coverage of the 1983 and 1987 American League Championship Series. Sutton previously served as a color commentator for NBC's coverage of the 1978 National League Championship Series.

His son, Daron, is a former broadcaster for the Arizona Diamondbacks.