JUPITER, Fla. - Cardinals Hall of Fame closer Bruce Sutter is back in uniform as a guest instructor for the next few days. And it took plenty of convincing from manager Mike Matheny to make it happen.
Sutter joins a list including Lou Brock, Ozzie Smith and Red Schoendienst as Hall of Fame Cardinals to come back to Spring Training this year. It’s Sutter’s first spring training since 1989.
“He’s great to have around,” Matheny said. “He already yesterday was talking right in the middle of the game, noticing a few things and asking some questions and going around. He said, ‘I used to hate when we would just see people hanging around.’ I said, ‘You realize you’re a Hall of Famer right?’
“He has a lot of wisdom and the players get that and you can notice the guys have all kind of been making their way towards him, just like they do with all the other guys.”
Hall of Fame manager Whitey Herzog is expected to arrive at camp next week. Hall of Fame pitcher Bob Gibson, a regular in Spring Training, is dealing with a knee issue and was unable to attend this year.
