In 1984, the Cleveland Indians traded pitcher Rick Sutcliffe to the Chicago Cubs. The change of scenery revived Sutcliffe’s career as he went 16-1 and won the Cy Young Award to go along with his 1979 Rookie of the Year Award from his time with the Los Angeles Dodgers.
“I still have a lot of friends from both teams,” says Sutcliffe from Chicago, where he’s covering the World Series for ESPN. “I have a great appreciation for Dave Garcia, who managed the Indians when I was there, and getting to know Bert Blyleven made a huge difference in my career. I thought I worked hard until I ran into Bert. I was his shadow. I wore him out mentally and physically.”
Sutcliffe says those 1980s Indians teams mirrored the Tribe team portrayed in the classic cult film Major League. “Len Barker pitched a perfect game and they traded him. … John Denny was a great pitcher and they traded him to Philadelphia, where he won the Cy Young Award. There were players who wanted out of there, but I wasn’t one of them.”
In June 1984, Sutcliffe made his first start in Wrigley Field. “My wife watched her first game at Wrigley the day before,” he says. “And as she walked out, she had tears in her eyes. She said, ‘Are all the games here like this? You really have to be good tomorrow.’ ” Sutcliffe threw a complete game shutout for the Cubs that day.
“I could not be happier for both teams,” says Sutcliffe of the Indians-Cubs matchup. “I don’t really pull for teams. I pull for good people and these are the two best clubhouses I’ve ever been in.”
Sutcliffe is picking the Cubs in seven games and says Corey Kluber is the key to the series. “Kluber is just a stud,” he says. “But you don’t know what he’s going to have left for a Game 7. I look for a couple of these middle games coming down to the 8th or 9th inning.”
ESPN’s Rick Sutcliffe Talks Cubs, Indians and the World Series
The former Tribe pitcher and Cubbie Cy Young Award winner picks Chicago in seven.
sports
5:00 PM EST
October 28, 2016