Draft and minor leagues Sutcliffe was the 21st pick in
1974 amateur draft by the
Los Angeles Dodgers.
Los Angeles Dodgers (1976, 1978–1981) Sutcliffe's first full season in the majors was 1979. He won 17 games for the Dodgers and was the first of four consecutive
Rookies of the Year for the
Dodgers from 1979– (
Steve Howe,
Fernando Valenzuela, and
Steve Sax were the others). 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. 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. Sutcliffe, angry at Dodgers' manager
Tommy Lasorda, whom he accused of lying to him, publicly demanded a trade. (Years later, the two reconciled.) 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. Sutcliffe won the Cy Young Award with a unanimous vote, beating out
Dwight Gooden and
Bruce Sutter. 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 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 , 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
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
Phillies, in which he also notched the victory. In , 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
San Francisco Giants in the
playoffs. Recurring arm injuries caused Sutcliffe to miss most of the and seasons and the Cubs did not offer him a contract for the next season.
Baltimore Orioles (1992–1993) Signing with the
Baltimore Orioles, Sutcliffe went 16–15 and 10–10 in and , starting the first game at
Oriole Park at Camden Yards.
St. Louis Cardinals (1994) He ended his career by signing a one-year minor league contract with the
St. Louis Cardinals in , going 6–4 in an injury-plagued season. He retired with a career record of 171–139, 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 (102-for-562) with 42
runs, 4
home runs, 55
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. ==Broadcasting career==