Darrell Sutherland

Darrell Wayne Sutherland (born November 14, 1941 in Glendale, California) is a former right-handed major league baseball pitcher who played for the New York Mets and Cleveland Indians from 1964 to 1966 and in 1968.

A Stanford University alumni, Sutherland is the brother of Gary Sutherland and son of minor league pitcher Ralph Sutherland. Despite being 6'4" tall, Sutherland was relatively lanky, weighing only 169 pounds.

Signed by the Philadelphia Phillies on June 12, 1963, Sutherland was selected by the Mets off of a first-year waiver pick on April 6, 1964. He made his major league debut on June 28 of that year, facing the Milwaukee Braves. Although he started the game, he lasted only a third of an inning, giving up five runs on three hits and two walks. In total, he appeared in 10 games in his rookie season, making four starts. He went 0-3 with a 7.76 ERA, walking 12 and striking out only nine in 26²⁄₃ innings of work.

Used almost entirely as a reliever in 1965, Sutherland appeared in 18 games (making only 2 starts). He posted a 3-1 record and a 2.81 ERA, even though he walked 17 batters and struck out only 16 in 48 innings of work.

In 1966, he slumped, posting a 4.87 ERA, allowing 60 hits and 25 walks (only 23 strikeouts) in 44¹⁄₃ innings. Despite that, he posted a perfect 2-0 record.

He did not play in the majors in 1967, and on November 28 he was selected by the Indians in a minor league draft. Sutherland made three appearances for the Indians in 1968, posting an 8.10 ERA with four walks and only two strikeouts in 3¹⁄₃ innings of work. He played his final game on April 19.

Overall, Sutherland went 5-4 in 62 big league games (six starts), never striking out more in a season than he walked. In 122¹⁄₃ innings of work, Sutherland walked 58 batters and struck out only 50. For a pitcher, he was a fairly solid hitter, posting a batting average of .238.

Sutherland apparently made a much better reliever in his career than starter - he won all five of his career games while in relief. He lost all four of his games as a starter.