This past January, the Dodgers family took a big hit as we lost the great Tommy Lasorda and Don Sutton. During the Trevor Bauer press conference, you can see on his right sleeve that two patches are visible one for Tommy Lasorda and one for Don Sutton.
Don Sutton died at his home in Rancho Mirage, California, after a long struggle with cancer. The Atlanta Braves, for whom Sutton was a long-time broadcaster, said he died in his sleep. A four-time All-Star, Sutton had a career record of 324-256 and an ERA of 3.26 while pitching for the Dodgers, Houston Astros, Milwaukee Brewers, Oakland Athletics, California Angels and the Dodgers again in 1988, his final season.
As for Lasorda, who famously said he “bled Dodger Blue”, was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1997. He had spent more than 70 years in the Dodgers’ organization, managing the team from 1976-96 after a decidedly unspectacular pitching career. His teams won 1,599 games, were World Series champs in 1981 and 1988 and two more National League pennants in 1977 and ’78 — Lasorda’s first two season as manager — before losing both of those World Series to the New York Yankees.
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