R.I.P., Gary Sutherland #3

The other day I saw on Baseball Reference’s In Memoriam section that former Tigers infielder Gary Sutherland died on Dec. 16 at 80.

Sutherland wore number 3 and played in 320 games for the Tigers in 1974, ’75 and part of ’76. He (and Jim Ray) came to Detroit from Houston on Dec. 3, 1973 for Fred Scherman and cash.

In ’74, he played 149 games, with 619 at-bats and a .254 batting average, drew 26 walks, and scored 60 runs.

The next year Sutherland played 129 games and 509 at-bats, posting slightly better numbers with a .258 batting average and scoring 51 runs.

His 1976 season began with Detroit but he struggled, hitting just .205 in 42 games before being traded to Milwaukee on June 10, 1976 for Pedro García. As Sutherland’s successor, García performed even worse, managing only a .198 average.

Here’s more.