Gary Sutherland

His father, Ralph Sutherland, was a left-handed pitcher in minor league baseball in the 1930s and 1940s.

Gary Lynn Sutherland (born September 27, 1944), nicknamed "Sudsy", is an American former professional baseball middle infielder.

Sutherland was born in Glendale, California, in 1944.

His older brother, Darrell Sutherland, was a right-handed pitcher for the New York Mets from 1964 to 1966.

Sutherland attended Glendale High School and the University of Southern California.

He played college baseball and was selected as an All-American while playing for the USC Trojans baseball team under head coach Rod Dedeaux.

Sutherland represented the United States in baseball at the 1964 Summer Olympics as a demonstration sport in Tokyo.

In November 1964, after completing his sophomore year at the University of Southern California, Sutherland was signed by the Philadelphia Phillies to a bonus contract as an amateur free agent.

He began his professional baseball career in 1965 at age 20 with the Chattanooga Lookouts in the Southern League.

He appeared in 141 games for Chattanooga in 1965, compiling a .285 batting average, and was promoted in 1966 to the San Diego Padres, then of the Pacific Coast League, in 1966.

He appeared in 140 games for the Padres and compiled a .254 batting average.

He played college baseball at the University of Southern California and later played 13 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB), from 1966 to 1978.

During Sutherland’s major league career, he played 717 games as a second baseman and 164 games as a shortstop.

Sutherland compiled a .243 batting average, but became known for his finesse in turning the double play.

Sutherland's career included stints with the Philadelphia Phillies (1966–1968), Montreal Expos (1969–71), Houston Astros (1972–1973), Detroit Tigers (1974–1976), Milwaukee Brewers (1976), San Diego Padres (1977), and St. Louis Cardinals (1978).

Sutherland made his major league debut with the Phillies on September 17, 1966, at age 21.

He appeared in three games for the Phillies at the end of the 1966 season and had no hits in three at bats.

Sutherland began the 1967 season as a left fielder, appearing in 25 games at the position.

In the early weeks of his rookie season, Sutherland performed well at the plate, compiling 11 hits in 19 at bats during one stretch in May 1967.

On April 30, 1967, he had a pinch-hit double in the ninth inning to drive in the game-winning runs against the Atlanta Braves.

By late May 1967, he led the Phillies with a .407 batting average.

Sutherland remained with the Phillies throughout the 1967 season, but moved to shortstop, playing 66 games at the position as a substitute for the Phillies' regular shortstop, Bobby Wine.

Sutherland's compiled a .247 batting average in 231 at bats during his rookie season.

After the 1967 season, the Phillies sent Sutherland to the Florida Instructional League in an effort to convert him into a catcher.

In December 1967, The Sporting News described the strategy in shifting Sutherland to catcher: "Sutherland isn't a capable enough gloveman to handle the shortstop job on a big league club on a regular basis and he isn't enough of a slugger to become a full-time outfielder, but he does everything fairly well and could well enjoy a long tenure with the Phillies as a utilityman."

In 1968, Sutherland appeared in 17 games at second base, 10 at shortstop, 10 at third base, five in right field and two in left field.

He did not appear in any games at the catcher position.

After receiving regular playing time at second base at the end of the 1968 season, following an injury to Cookie Rojas, Sutherland had 12 hits in 17 at bats over five games to raise his batting average from .224 to .290.

He also compiled five game-winning hits in his 138 at bats in 1968.

In October 1968, Sutherland was drafted by the Montreal Expos as the eighth pick in the 1968 expansion draft.

In the Expos' inaugural season, Sutherland became the team's starting second baseman, appearing in 139 games at the position, while compiling a .239 batting average.

Sutherland led all National League (NL) second basemen with 110 double plays turned during the 1969 season.

In 1969, he also scored the first run in franchise history for the Montreal Expos and recorded the first putout in a regular season MLB game ever played in Canada.

On April 8, 1969, Sutherland scored the first run in the Expos' franchise history, on a Bob Bailey double in the first inning of the Expos' inaugural game, an 11–10 victory over the New York Mets at Shea Stadium.

He also recorded the first putout in a major league regular season game in Canada on April 14, 1969, off Lou Brock's line drive in the Expos' first home game against the St. Louis Cardinals at Jarry Park.

Sutherland continued as the Expos' starting second baseman in 1970, appearing in 97 games at the position while his batting average dropped to .207.

Despite the decline in batting average, manager Gene Mauch continued to express confidence in Sutherland.

The Sporting News in October 1970 wrote that Sutherland showed "no signs of giving up despite two frustrating seasons," and the paper noted that he turned double plays "with great finesse" and was "one of the toughest men in the National League to strike out," but "his soft liners usually drop comfortably in an outfielder's hands."

In 1971, Ron Hunt took over as the Expos' starting second baseman with Sutherland splitting his time between second base (56 games) and shortstop (46 games).

Sutherland spent most of the 1972 season playing in the minor leagues for the Oklahoma City 89ers (79 games) and the Peninsula Whips (53 games).