Al Downing vs. Bruce Sutter — Career Comparison

Al Downing built a career as a starting pitcher and Bruce Sutter as a reliever — different jobs with different demands — but on the metrics that apply to both, a comparison is still worth making. Their run-prevention marks were nearly identical — ERA+ of 112 for Al Downing and 116 for Bruce Sutter, with skill-based marks of DICE+ 98 and 103 respectively. Role difference aside, the slight lean goes to Bruce Sutter — but these two were remarkably close on the shared metrics.