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Gary Lynn Sutherland
Montreal Expos
Shortstop
Born: September 27, 1944, Glendale, CA
Signed: Signed by the Philadelphia Phillies as an amateur free agent, November 6, 1964
Major League Teams: Philadelphia Phillies 1966-1968; Montreal Expos 1969-1971; Houston Astros 1972-1973; Detroit Tigers 1974-1976; Milwaukee Brewers 1976; San Diego Padres 1977; St. Louis Cardinals 1978
Gary Sutherland played in parts of 13 seasons in the majors, seeing the most action with the expansion Expos and later, the Tigers. Sutherland's first taste of the big leagues came in 1967 with the Phillies as a back-up shortstop and left fielder, filling in for regulars Bobby Wine (#648) and Tony Gonzalez (#501). Left unprotected by the Phillies for the 1968 expansion draft, he was the eighth pick overall and the starting second baseman for the Expos on opening day 1969. Sutherland reached on an error in the first inning that opening day, eventually scoring the first run in Expos' franchise history on a Bob Bailey (#399) double off the Mets' Tom Seaver (#480). After a few steady years in Montreal, he'd next earn regular playing time with the Tigers in the mid-1970s. Sutherland was the everyday second baseman for the Tigers in 1974 and 1975, appearing in a career-high 149 games in 1974 and driving in a career-best 49 runs.
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| From the 1968 Phillies Yearbook |
Building the Set / Card #313
December 3, 2023 from The Philly Show (Uncle Dick's Cards)
Doug and I returned to The Philly Show in early December, once again held inside the Greater Philadelphia Expo Center in Oaks, Pennsylvania. eBay has taken over sponsorship of the show, with the quaint, bubble-lettered Philly Show logo that had been in place since the 1980s replaced with a more modern logo, keeping with the times. I wrote about the show in a post over at The Phillies Room.
December 3, 2023 from The Philly Show (Uncle Dick's Cards)
Doug and I returned to The Philly Show in early December, once again held inside the Greater Philadelphia Expo Center in Oaks, Pennsylvania. eBay has taken over sponsorship of the show, with the quaint, bubble-lettered Philly Show logo that had been in place since the 1980s replaced with a more modern logo, keeping with the times. I wrote about the show in a post over at The Phillies Room.
Similar to my strategy from March, I wanted to focus on accumulating commons and having found success with Uncle Dick's Cards before, I didn't mess around and headed right for the neon green binders. I pulled 145 cards from the binder containing cards 301 to the end of the set, stopping when I reached 500. This card was the 21st of 145 cards purchased for our set, and after the dealer discount due to my bulk purchase, it cost me a little over $2.
The Card / Expos Team Set / Accuracy Index -8
As he had only played for the Phillies up to this point, Sutherland would appear to be wearing a Phillies road gray uniform on this card. The write-up on the back is extremely complimentary of Sutherland, and while his .275 average would have led the Phillies in 1968, he only had 149 plate appearances. Baseball was a demonstration sport during the 1964 Summer Olympics in Tokyo, and Sutherland was one of the more recognizable names from Team USA's roster.
Accuracy Index: Like most Expos cards so far in the set, Sutherland's card scores a -8.
1969 Season
Expos' manager Gene Mauch (#606) was familiar with Sutherland, having managed him through the first part of the 1968 season. Sutherland started 138 games at second base, missing a few weeks in July likely due to injury. His double play partner for most of the season was his former teammate Wine, who was the Expos' regular shortstop in their inaugural year. Sutherland batted .239 with 26 doubles, three home runs and 35 RBIs.
A September call-up in 1966, Sutherland played in three games late that season and then made the team's opening day roster in 1967. He appeared in 103 games, batting .247 with a home run and 19 RBIs, seeing time at shortstop and left field, as mentioned above. In an attempt to find him more playing time, the Phillies attempted to convert him to a catcher following the 1967 season, but the experiment never took off. Sutherland was back on the bench for most of 1968, making just 27 starts all season at second base, third base, shortstop, right field and left field. With a glut of utility players on the roster and a bunch of infielders ready for promotion, the Phillies opted to leave him unprotected in the expansion draft, leading to his selection by the Expos.
In 173 games with the Phillies, Sutherland batted .255 with 19 doubles, one home run and 34 RBIs.
Other Notable Baseball Cards
First Mainstream Card: 1967 Topps #587
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (11): 1967-1977
Most Recent Mainstream Card: 1977 Topps #307
Total Non-Parallel Baseball Cards: 47 in the Beckett online database as of 6/8/24.
Sources:
Baseball Reference / Wikipedia
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First Mainstream Card: 1967 Topps #587
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (11): 1967-1977
Most Recent Mainstream Card: 1977 Topps #307
Total Non-Parallel Baseball Cards: 47 in the Beckett online database as of 6/8/24.
Sources:
Baseball Reference / Wikipedia
Sutherland’s Phillies’ career is a mystery.
ReplyDeleteIn 1967, he started 41 of the first 65 games, platooning in left field during April and May, then playing almost every day in June while alternating between left field and shortstop.
He only started 14 games over the 2nd half of the season, with Billy Cowan, Doug Clemens, and even Cookie Rojas getting the odd starts in left field that Sudsy had been getting in the first half.
Then in 1968 he was relegated to a utility role, and was even behind career minor-leaguer Roberto Pena at shortstop, after Don Money was sent down and Bobby Wine was lost to injury.