Friday, December 22, 2006

Nats make pitch for Sutton

Jim Williams, The Examiner
Dec 22, 2006 3:00 AM (5 hrs ago)
Current rank: # 2 of 15,510 articles

WASHINGTON - Several high-placed Atlanta sources tell me former Braves announcer and Hall-of-Fame pitcher Don Sutton will join Bob Carpenter in the Nationals TV booth this season on MASN.

While the deal has not been finalized, it is “very close to being closed and the only thing that needs to be done is the length of the agreement,” according to a source.

The pairing of Sutton, who will be the Nats’ third color analyst in as many seasons, and play-by-play man Carpenter will give Washington one of the best broadcast duos in baseball. Sutton replaces Tom Paciorek, who was not retained after one season.

In his 23 years as a pitcher, Sutton played for the Los Angeles Dodgers, Houston Astros, Milwaukee Brewers, Oakland Athletics, and California Angels. He won a total of 324 games and is eighth on baseball’s all-time strikeout list with 3,574.

Sutton began as a broadcaster with the Braves in 1989 and over the years has become a well-respected announcer.

He was let go by the Braves after last season as the team is headed in a new direction; TBS is doing a nationally televised “Game of the Week” every Sunday afternoon starting in April.

It ultimately came down to Sutton and former Cubs broadcaster Steve Stone for the Nats. The winner is reunited with his old Braves boss Stan Kasten, now the Nats’ President.

Jim Williams is a seven-time Emmy Award-winning TV producer, director and writer.

Examiner

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