European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - July 16, 1986, Darmstadt, Hesse Wednesday. July 16.1986 the stars and stripes Page 23 commentary Sutton a shoo in for Cooperstown Webster s new International dictionary de fines Mechanic As a manual worker or an Artisan of or relating to manual work of the nature of or resembling a machine especially in routine or Auto Matic performance. In major league baseball they know whom this applies to a fall Square shouldered Guy with Gray curls around his Temple and Long arms and on Impe rious squint Down the barrel of a j-2 count with the game on the line. Donald Howard Sulton is who. You look at sul in and you imagine him sizing up the Job at hand Tike a plumber with a wrench in his hand and a Loo Box at his feet trying to decide which appliance the Job Calls for or whether a simple Little tap on the pipes will do. Donald Howard has been baseball s plumber for21 Yean. It s been dark and dirty. But someone had to do one has done it any belter. He comes to work figuratively wearing coveralls carrying a lunch pail and a Toolbox. He gets the Job done and leaves the Bill and goes Home and then comes Back and does i again the next Day. He should go into the Hall of Fame with a pair of Lien in his Glove or a wire Snake hanging out of his pocket. They May have him do the see what he has done on the Mound for 21 years has been precision work As skilled and Cra Tedas is Bineley or tool and die making. He has plugged leaks and put the wheels Back on Lor More than on franchise. Lou of pitchers ram their Way into the Hall of Fame with a 100-Mph fastball or one of those trick pitches that disappears on the Way to the plate and is harder to hit than a pick six. Don Simon did it with somewhat less. True head a Hel Lacious curve Ball one of history s Best that would break at right angles and could be throw around the Empire state building or across Rhode Island and be Over for a strike. But his other pitches were dime store stuff. His fastball was Only in the is Mph Range and he did t even have a change up until Andy Messersmith taught in to him. But he got bitten out. He was the Best since Cleveland Alexander Tor keeping the hitters off balance under swinging or Over striding. Optometry could t have found the hitters Blind spots any bet Ter than or. Sutt finds a Way to gel to you Casey Stengel once grudgingly observed. My men swing where the think the Ball is Only in has t been there lately. And sometimes they re late. He never tells anybody you see. This disappoints the Mechanic won his 300lh game a few week Sago. Of All the thousands who have played this game Only 18 others have Ever done is a performance that guarantees Cooperstown. It ii also one that shocks baseball some purists Are aghast to win 300 games you should have whole Bunch of 20-win seasons. Sut ton has one. You should have a nickname like the bit train or the big. Six or Tom terrific or Bullet Bob. The express. You Call Sutton Don. Or if you re in a hurry , there Are 47 pitchers in the Hall of Fame. Thirty three of them never won 300 games. Ten of them never won 200 carries. One of them babe Ruth never won 100.baseball is a game that worships consistency repetition Back Loback no hitters Don t impress Bane Ball. One year careers no matter How Brilliant do not stir the Arebelo Logisios of the grand old classic example of baseball s thinking can be seen in the time Willie Mays made an impossible Over the shoulder Oul of this world catch of a Ball that had Home run written All Over it going the wrong Way 490 feet from Home plate and Charlie dress Erin the dugout was heard to growl i d like to see him do that again you cannot catch baseball s highest accolade unless you can do it again Over and Over. And Over. Don Sutton has done it. He was As dependable a Sunrise As effective As aspirin. You just had la give Sutton the Ball the late i upon was a co icy a 01 school of contemptuous pitching by shocked the great Willie Mowitch a 3-2 curve Ball with the Bas Walt Alston who managed him for years used Loray. He was always in shape always he was one of Ine steadies pitchers who Ever Seldom walked anybody he did t want to walk or did t care if he did walk. Sutlon who had taught himself control by nailing a floor mat to his screen door at Home and spotting his pitches on in could paint picture on Home palc with nil fastball. He was around the plate so much that he has Hada near record 412 Home runs hit off him. My hang ing fastball he says laughing. Reporters used to approach him after a game to inquire innocently Sut How do you hold your Gopher Ball one sea Morlow Sutlo cock kid of the Here hit this a. Ling. Once he absolute i Vic Covey by coming Init bases who come in Wilh a curve Ball in that situation should be taken out behind the woodshed growled Mccovey. Sutlon is pleased to be on the High Road to Cooperstown. But not necessarily surprised. We went to Cooperstown once to play the Hall of Fame game and i looked around and i. Got Goose bumps/1 be said. And i said to myself. Someday d like to be Here then when i won my 210th game and passed Don Drysdale with 209, More than any other dodger i knew i had a Chance to make it. 1 knew Don would make it and daily Vance already had and be had 197 As usual Sutlon had studied the percentages an knew what he had to throw a 300. Typically redid it it is the one towering stat but he has others s8 shutouts and Only nine players the like of Wal Ter Johnson by Young and Mordecai Brown have More eight world series games five one hitters nine belongs with them with history. As the base Ball historian. Bill James says in his baseball abstract of 1986 i m not saying there is a player comparable to Sutton who is in the Hall of Fame i m taking Here is no player comparable to Don Sutlon who is not in the Hall of Fame it in t that the Hall of Fame includes a Pitcher who is somewhat less qualified but Shai ii includes Many pitchers whore nowhere near As Well Ditka promises Tough training Camp bears open drive to repeat nil title Byrod Boshat Platteville wis. Up the super bowl Champion Chicago bears enjoying an of season of lucrative endorsements and personal appearances tuesday must Start to get their Liming Back when they begin the grind of the training Camp snuffle. The goal coach Mike Ditka and his free spirited bears who capped an 18-1 Campaign with a 46-10 rout of new eng land in super bowl xxx. Will strive for this season ii to become the first of team in even years to repeat As champs. Ditka who says he once dreamed of winning it alias a coach and now dreams of doing so again is optimistic the bears Are capable of dominating the nil in the 19sos the Way the Green Bay packers did in the 60s. The players Are really enjoying the Money and the notoriety that comes with being super bowl champions Ditka said. They just have to understand when it is ume to turn All of that off an get ready to Start knocking head again. Ditka promises a Tough training workouts Tor the bears at the University of Wisconsin this week in preparation for their aug. 3 exhibition match with the Dallas cowboys in London. Among tie obstacle the bears mus Deal wifi to return to the super bowl Are the departure of defensive coach fail coach Mike Ditka. Optimistic on chances buddy Ryan. The ability to keep daring Quarter Back Jim Mcmahon healthy. The holes created by injuries to wide receiver Dennis Mckinnon and defensive Back Leslie Frazier. How they handle the rest of the league gunning for bears also entered the week of defensive end Richard Dent. Among unsigned stars training Camp with several unsigned players including super bowl most valuable player Richard Dent lint round draft Choice Neal Anderson safeties Dave Dreison and Gary Fencik and Fra Zier. We May have a few Guys who Are unhappy because they feel they contributed a great Deal yet Aren t going to be compensated for it but our morale willbe excellent going into training Camp Ditka said. We will be a competitive team and we will go out there every Sun Day afternoon or monday night and get after the bears general manager Jerry Vainis isaid this week he Lias a suspicion Dent will be at Camp but he said he think twill be a Long time before Anderson joins the s agent Steve Rappenecker rejected a four year proposal during the weekend and the two sides reportedly were far apart. Anderson is expected Tobe groomed to replace perennial All pro running Back Waller Payton the nil Sall time leading Retuher. Vainisi said he has not spoken with Dent nor Dent s agent in More than two months but he told a Chicago radio Sta Tion i have a gut feeling hell negotiate while he s in , a defensive end who specializes in pressuring quarterbacks is technically under contract and could face a Fine if he fails to show up at training Camp. He a stalked at the latest offer on a new con trac Chicago raced a similar situation on the eve of ils training Camp last Yea when several players including linebacker Mike Singletary were holdout. Singletary agreed to terms but two other defensive standouts com crack Todd Ell and lineman at Harris sat out the entire season and remain unsigned this year
