December 24, 2024

By Danny Gallagher

Canadian Baseball Network

Gary Sutherland was an original Montreal Expos player, who scored the very first run in franchise history on April 8 at Shea Stadium in New York.

He reached on an error by Ken Boswell and came around to score as Montreal edged the Mets 11-10 in their franchise opener.

Sutherland also was the first Expo to record an out in the team's first game at Jarry Park on April 14, 1969 when he snared a line drive hit by Lou Brock of the Cardinals and threw the fleet-footed runner out at first.

Sutherland was selected by the Expos from the Philadelphia Phillies in the expansion draft held on Oct. 14, 1968 at the Windsor Hotel in Montreal.

Sutherland was following in the footsteps of Expos manager Gene Mauch who skipped the Phillies for many years. Mauch liked what he saw of Sudsy in Philly so he coaxed management into drafting him for Montreal.

Sutherland was an ideal disciple for Mauch’s brand of small ball, hitting mostly out of the No. 2 hole or on occasion as the leadoff hitter. Sutherland rarely struck out, could put the ball in play and move the runners over without benefit of much power. He protected the plate and Mauch loved Sutherland’s defensive work.

”Sutherland doesn’t swing at the ball. He strokes it,’’ Mauch once told a reporter.

The baseball world is mourning the death of Sutherland, 80, who died in Monrovia, Calif., on Dec. 16 after a battle with bile duct cancer. His death only came to light Dec. 23 when some online websites reported the news.

His daughter Lori Ketkar said in a post on the Douglas & Zook Funeral Home website that he had been diagnosed 21⁄2  months ago.

“He’s in a better place now, free from the pain and suffering from the aggressive cancer,’’ Ketkar wrote. “We had a beautiful day with him the day before he passed away. We were lucky enough to tell him how much we all loved him.

Sutherland was the Expos' No. 1 second baseman in 1969 with a .971 fielding percentage and participated in a National League-leading 110 double plays.

Sutherland batted .243, racked up 26 doubles, three homers and 35 RBIs in 141 games in 1969, making himself a fan favourite and establishing himself as one of Mauch's greatest admirers.

Sutherland wore No. 1 and Bob Oldis, a coach under Mauch in 1969, has always said his No. 1 favourite Expos player from 1969 was Sutherland.

"He came to play every day,'' Oldis told me a few years about Sudsy. "He knew how to play the game. He knew he had to get the runner over. He could hit the ball to right. He had a really good, short stroke.'' 

Sutherland played less for the Expos the following two seasons. In 116 games in 1970, he hit three homers and drove in 26 runs while batting .206. In 1971 in 111 games, he drilled four homers, drove in 26 runs and improved his batting average to .257.

In 1972, Mauch and the Expos grew less interested in Sutherland and optioned him to the Peninsula Whips triple-A club to start the season.

On June 13, 1972, Sutherland's tenure with the Expos' organization ended when he was traded to the Houston Astros for John Dolinsek and cash.

Sutherland also played for the Detroit Tigers, Milwaukee Brewers, San Diego Padres and St. Louis Cardinals before retiring. He appeared in a total of 1,031 MLB games, striking out only 219 times in 3,385 plate appearances. He never took a liking to a base on balls. He walked only 207 times during his career in the majors.

"Good man,'' his Expos teammate Steve Renko said. "I played college baseball against him. He was with USC and I was playing for Kansas.''

Sutherland was married for more than 60 years to Karen Kent. They married July 30, 1964 shortly after his sophomore year ended at USC.

Sutherland was named to the U.S. national baseball team during the summer of 1964 and played about 20 exhibition games in the Far East that October, including two games at the Toyko Olympics where baseball was a demonstration sport.

The U.S. team wasn’t considered part of the official American Olympic team and didn’t stay in the Olympic Village. To make it even more odd, the Americans and Japanese were the only teams playing. One game was tied 2-2 and the U.S. won the other game 3-0.

Shortly after returning from Japan, Sutherland, 20, signed with the Phillies as a free agent, rather than return to USC for his third season. The Phillies called it a “bonus signing’’ but the amount of money involved wasn’t released.

Following his playing days, Sutherland scouted for a number of years for the Padres and Cleveland and spent a long time as an assistant to Angels GM Bill Stoneman, his Expos teammate.

He leaves behind his wife, three children and other siblings, including older brother Darrell, who pitched in the majors in the 1970s for the Mets and Cleveland.