Rick Sutcliffe shares story of how his life has come full circle at Kauffman Stadium

Former major-league pitcher Rick Sutcliffe was at Kauffman Stadium for the Royals’ game against the Oakland A’s on Thursday, and he was feeling nostalgic.

Sutcliffe, 63, was born in Independence and starred at Van Horn High School. The Dodgers picked him in the first round of the 1974 draft, and Sutcliffe got his first taste of the major leagues as a 20-year-old in 1976.

In 1979, Sutcliffe won the National League rookie of the year award after winning 17 games for the Dodgers. He had the best ERA in the American League in 1982 with the Indians and helped the Cubs make the playoffs in 1984 when he won the National League Cy Young award. He pitched 18 seasons in the majors and made three All-Star game appearances.

When his playing days ended, Sutcliffe got work with ESPN calling games. Baseball has been his life, but as Sutcliffe looked at Kauffman Stadium on Thursday, he recalled a time before the stadium was built. And Sutcliffe was amazed how his life has come full circle.

Sutcliffe shared those thoughts in a video on Twitter.

“This is my special K,” Sutcliffe said. “I grew up about a half-mile from here, right behind that hotel. My brother and I rode our bikes on this land when it was nothing but woods. We built a tree house here, then they tore it down. Told us we had to stay away. We were devastated. We were crushed. This was our place to go. I had no idea as a 12-year-old kid that my job would some day take me back here.”

This story was originally published August 30, 2019 at 9:57 AM.