Lucky Hall Of Famer Number 52 - Bruce Sutter

As I wrote in May of 2022 (https://thecooperstownadvocate.blogspot.com/2022/05/chart-for-relief-pitchers.html), I am not sure if any closers belong in Cooperstown. A closer's role is extremely limited, making it hard to ascertain his true value to his club. What's worse, saves, more or less the defining statistic of closers these days, are pretty arbitrary and don't mean much on their own, making them even trickier to evaluate. Up until now, I've been pretty lax about criticizing the closers already in the Hall of Fame, but I think it's time to pick on the bottom of the barrel among enshrined closers - Bruce Sutter. 

    Bruce Sutter made his MLB debut with the Cubs in 1976, pitching to a 2.70 ERA in 52 appearances. The next year, he lowered it to 1.34 (with 31 saves) en route to seventh place finish in the MVP Award voting. Sutter continued to shine for the next several years, with the pinnacle of his career coming with the Cardinals in 1982, when he finished off the World Series against the Milwaukee Brewers (an AL team back then). Sutter had a hiccup in 1983 (4.23 ERA), but was back to form in 1984, posting a 1.54 ERA and a setting a new MLB record with 45 saves. This season earned him a six year, $4.8 million contract with the Braves, plus another $4.8 million into a deferred payment account at 13% interest, making him the highest paid player in the game. However, Sutter's career started to crumble from there, as he stumbled to a 4.48 ERA in his first season in Atlanta. Injuries cost him most of 1986 and all of 1987, and when he returned in 1988, he was ineffective. Another injury triggered his release on November 15, 1989. 

    When evaluating Sutter's career, I don't see a lot to love. He pitched twelve seasons in the Majors, and was below average in four of them. I'll shrug off the 300 saves because they don't matter; at his core, Sutter was a good pitcher in a very limited sample size - only 1,042 innings in his career. The lack of innings really stunts his value. If the Hall wants to induct a closer with so few innings, I'd expect him to be better than Sutter, who had a 2.83 ERA, 1.14 WHIP, and 20.3% K rate. 

My opinion: Bruce Sutter is not a Hall of Famer.