Manufacturer: Topps
Set: 1977 Topps Baseball ➡️
Player Name: Bruce Sutter
Position/Team: Pitcher for Cubs
Card #: 144
Card Size: 2-1/2” x 3-1/2”
Card Values: See Pricing Table Below
Howard Bruce Sutter was a prominent American professional baseball pitcher who played for 12 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) between 1976 and 1988. He was widely recognized as one of the sport’s dominant relievers in the late 1970s and early 1980s, largely due to his effective use of the split-finger fastball.
He played for the Chicago Cubs (1976–1980), St. Louis Cardinals (1981–1984), and Atlanta Braves (1985–1986, 1988), serving as each team’s closer during his tenure.
He was a six-time All-Star (1977–1981, 1984) and a 1982 World Series champion with the St. Louis Cardinals. In 1979, he won the National League (NL) Cy Young Award as its top pitcher, becoming only the third reliever to receive this honor. He also won the NL Rolaids Relief Man Award four times (1979, 1981, 1982, 1984) and led the NL in saves five times (1979–1982, 1984). Sutter retired with a 2.83 career earned run average (ERA) and 300 saves, which was the third-most in MLB history at the time of his retirement. He was the first pitcher never to start a game to be elected to the Hall of Fame.
After a arm surgery early in his minor league career, he learned the split-finger fastball, a pitch that became his signature and allowed him to reach the major leagues and excel.
Bruce Sutter was inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 2006, on his 13th ballot. His number 42 was retired by the St. Louis Cardinals in 2006 as well. Sutter’s impact on the game was significant, especially in pioneering the use of the split-finger fastball and setting a high standard for relief pitchers.
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Pricing Data For This Rookie Card
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Did You Know? Bruce Sutter only mastered his legendary, Hall of Fame-defining split-finger fastball because of a major elbow surgery early in the minors that severely weakened his arm and cost him his standard fastball velocity. Desperate to salvage his career, a Cubs minor league pitching coach taught him the unique grip to relieve pressure on his elbow, unknowingly unleashing a pitch that would completely revolutionize modern baseball relief pitching.
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