Bruce Sutter, Hall of Famer and Cy Young winner, dies at 69

ST. LOUIS — Bruce Sutter, a Hall of Fame reliever and the 1979 Cy Young winner, has died. He was 69.

Major League Baseball and the St. Louis Cardinals announced Sutter’s death on Friday but did not provide the cause of death. The Baseball Hall of Fame said Sutter died Thursday in Cartersville, Georgia.

Sutter is considered one of the first pitchers to throw a split-finger fastball. The right-hander played 12 seasons in the major leagues, was a six-time All-Star and ended up with 300 saves over his career.

MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred said he was “deeply saddened" by the news.

“Bruce was the first pitcher to reach the Hall of Fame without starting a game, and he was one of the key figures who foreshadowed how the use of relievers would evolve,” Manfred said in a statement. “Bruce will be remembered as one of the best pitchers in the histories of two of our most historic franchises.”

Sutter debuted with the Chicago Cubs in 1976. The reliever won the Cy Young in 1979 in a season where he had 37 saves, 2.22 ERA and 110 strikeouts.

He joined the St. Louis Cardinals and played with them from 1981 to 1984. There, he won a World Series in 1982, ending Game 7 against the Brewers with a strikeout.

His last save, No. 300, came with the Atlanta Braves in 1988. Sutter was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 2006.

“Bruce was a fan-favourite during his years in St. Louis and in the years to follow, and he will always be remembered for his 1982 World Series clinching save and signature split-fingered pitch," Cardinals owner and CEO Bill DeWitt Jr. said in a statement. "He was a true pioneer in the game, changing the role of the late inning reliever.”

The Cardinals said Sutter is survived by his wife, three sons, a daughter-in-law and six grandkids.