Jerry Sutton, a Michigan State University baseball All-American alumnus and Minor League Baseball player for five seasons, passed away at 82.
Sutton was a Lansing-native who went to Lansing Sexton High School and played for MSU from 1962 to 1964, where he eventually signed with the Chicago White Sox.
As an MSU first baseman, he threw right-handed and batted lefty. He was awarded Most Improved Player in 1962, was crowned the Spartan Batting Champion in 1962 and 1964 with .397 and .383 batting averages, respectively, and was named MSU’s Most Valuable Offensive Player in 1964.
In 1962, he posted a .762 slugging percentage with 48 total bases stolen in 63 at-bats, a mark that presently ranks seventh-best in school history. He won Most Valuable Player in 1963, made All-Big Ten in 1963 and 1964, and was an All-American in 1963.
Sutton then played minor league baseball with the Sarasota Sun Sox, Clinton C-Sox, Tidewater Tides and the St. Cloud Rox.
In 1989, he was inducted into the Greater Lansing Area Sports Hall of Fame.
In 2016, Sutton was honored as the recipient of the Jack Breslin Life Achievement Award from MSU’s ‘S’ Club for his community work post-college. He also received the Distinguished Alumnus of the Year award in 2005 from MSU and the MSU baseball program.
Sutton was also very involved in the Michigan State community. He annually sponsored Wharton Center events, was a founding donor to the Broad Art Museum and sponsored the Food Bank Empty Plate Host Committee, among other donations and sponsorships.
Support student media! Please consider donating to The State News and help fund the future of journalism.
