Former Padres Infielder Dies at 80

Sam Garcia | 15 Hours Ago

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Former Padres infielder Gary Sutherland died on Dec. 16 at age 80. His cause of death was not reported in the Douglass & Zook funeral home obituary. 

Sutherland was born on Sept. 27, 1944, in Glendale, California. He has an older brother, Darrell Sutherland, who also played in the Major Leagues. The elder Sutherland pitched four MLB seasons, spending the majority of his career with the New York Mets and his final season with the Cleveland Indians.

Sutherland played one season with the San Diego Padres in 1977. He was released by the Milwaukee Brewers on Feb. 17, 1977. By April, Sutherland signed a contract with the Padres as a free agent. 

With San Diego, Sutherland made appearances at first, second, and third base. He spent the most time at second base, where he logged 130.1 innings with the Padres and 5,586 innings throughout his career. Sutherland was primarily a second baseman throughout his career but made 21 of his 38 career appearances at third base with the Padres.

At the plate, Sutherland nearly matched his career slash line while playing for the Padres. In his single season with the franchise, he slashed .243/.291/.301 and logged a .592 OPS across 80 games. 

In December 1977, San Diego released Sutherland. Less than a month later, he signed with the St. Louis Cardinals for his final MLB season. However, he only recorded six at-bats, one run, and one hit across 10 games in 1977. 

After retiring from baseball, Sutherland took on different roles in the Major Leagues. He was a scout for multiple MLB teams including the Padres and Los Angeles Dodgers. He also served as a special assistant for the general manager of the Los Angeles Angels.

Sutherland played a total of 13 seasons in the Major Leagues, making appearances with the Padres, Brewers, Cardinals, Philadelphia Phillies, Montreal Expos, and Detroit Tigers.

Although Sutherland never earned any major accolades in professional baseball, he made history with the Expos. In the 1968 expansion draft, Montreal drafted Sutherland in the eighth round. He became their starting second baseman. In the team’s inaugural game in 1969, Sutherland reached base on an error to score the first run in franchise history. 

Before playing in the Major Leagues, Sutherland played college baseball at the University of Southern California. The Phillies signed Sutherland as a non-drafted free agent in November 1964. He made his MLB debut two years later on Sept. 17, 1966.