This day in Los Angeles Dodgers history saw Rick Sutcliffe voted the 1979 National League Rookie of the Year despite the team finishing below .500 at 79-83.
Sutcliffe received 20 of 24 first-place votes to run away with the award. Houston Astros outfielder Jeffrey Leonard — who spent the 1977 season with the Dodgers — received three first-place votes to finish second to Sutcliffe.
Rookie of the Year finalists were rounded out Chicago Cubs outfielder Scot Thompson, who garnered one vote for first place.
Sutcliffe made his MLB debut with the Dodgers in 1976, but only started one game. He then made two relief appearances the following year before taking on a significant role with the team in 1979.
Sutcliffe made eight relief appearances before being moved into the rotation at the end of April. Overall, he finished the season 17-10 with a 3.46 ERA and 1.29 WHIP across 39 games (30 starts).
As a starter, the right-hander was 16-9 with a 3.54 ERA, five complete games and one shutout. He produced three different stretches with winning four of five starts, including one such span to close out the season.
Sutcliffe’s final outing of the 1979 season was a tough-luck loss to the Houston Astros in which he allowed three runs (two earned) to the Houston Astros in a complete game.
Although Sutcliffe won Rookie of the Year with the Dodgers, he is most known for a successful tenure with the Chicago Cubs. He additionally pitched for the Cleveland Indians, Baltimore Orioles and St. Louis Cardinals.
Sutcliffe won the Cy Young Award in 1984 and was a three-time All-Star.
Rick Sutcliffe began Dodgers Rookie of the Year streak
From 1979-1982, the Dodgers had four consecutive Rookie of the Year winners. The stretch began with Sutcliffe, who was followed by Steve Howe, Fernando Valenzuela and Steve Sax before the streak was snapped by the New York Mets’ Darryl Strawberry.
The Dodgers later had five consecutive Rookie of the Year winners from 1992-1996 (Eric Karros, Mike Piazza, Raul Mondesi, Hideo Nomo and Todd Hollandsworth).
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