Don Sutton, Calling It as He Sees It

Meanwhile, Sutton has rebuilt his own in-season life here in Washington. Aside from traveling to the District when Atlanta played the Nationals, he'd seen little of the city.

"I had been to the White House and the Capitol twice with some programs I was involved in," he recalled, "but I wasn't that familiar with Washington."

The Sutton family home is in California, but Sutton has bought a townhouse in Alexandria. "I wanted to live in the District, but I couldn't afford it," he said. "We wanted three bedrooms; that's all we wanted. I was prepared to pay X dollars and three-times-X was what was run by me."

Sutton's wife, Mary, coaxed him to get a place near the Metro so she and their 10-year-old daughter, Jackie, could take the subway around town on summer sightseeing trips.

"They've laid out their summer plans. It'll be a good civics class for them," he said.

Sutton, though, has been driving to work -- and enjoying it. "When I go by the Capitol and the monuments, I still get goose bumps," he said. "And I hope I never lose that because of the importance of what this city is to a way of life I believe in."

NATIONALS BASEBALL

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Sutton's Stats

Born: April 2, 1945, in Clio, Ala.

Family: Wife, Mary; their daughter, Jackie, 10. Sutton also has a son, Daron, who does play-by-play for the Arizona Diamondbacks; and a daughter, Staci, who works for a wine import company.

Baseball:

· Played in the major leagues from 1966 to 1988, primarily for the Los Angeles Dodgers, and for the Houston Astros, Milwaukee Brewers, Oakland Athletics and California Angels.

· Pitched in four World Series; was named to four All-Star teams.

· Won 324 games (tied for 14th all-time), recorded 3,574 strikeouts (No. 7 all-time); had a career earned-run average of 3.26.

· Inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1998.

Proudest Career Accomplishment: "Making over 750 consecutive scheduled starts. There was a lot I couldn't control, but I could go to work."

More Baseball on TV:

<<ALL-STAR GAME: The majors' best duke it out from San Francisco (Tuesday, 8 p.m., Fox). Pre-game-day fare is highlighted by the annual Home Run Derby (Monday, 8 p.m., ESPN) and Futures Game (Sunday, 4 p.m., ESPN2).

THE BRONX IS BURNING: Set in 1977 New York, this miniseries chronicles the feud between Yankee Reggie Jackson and team manager Billy Martin. Premieres Monday, 10 p.m., ESPN.

>> BROOKLYN DODGERS: THE GHOSTS OF FLATBUSH: The story of Jackie Robinson's team and its bitter rivalry with the Yankees. Wednesday, 8 p.m., HBO.