Burt Hooton cut his teeth with the Chicago Cubs, making their parent club in 1971, but the struggles in Wrigley saw the hurler traded to L.A. early in the 1975 Season. If you are to go by traditional statistics, this was the most fantastic year of Hooton's career, as he went 18 and 9, the best Winning Percentage in the National League.
Hooton remained a Starting Rotation fixture for Los Angeles for years, which included a spectacular year in 1978 where he was the Cy Young runner-up with a career-best in Wins (19), along with a strong ERA of 2.71. Helping the Dodgers win two Pennants in the late 80s, the veteran southpaw remained a viable hurler for L.A., going to his first (and only) All-Star Game in 1981. That year, he helped Los Angeles win the World Series, where he went 1-1 with a 1.59 ERA and won the NLCS MVP, where he earned both decisions by allowing zero runs in 14.2 Innings.
The righthander's career fizzled after the championship, winning only 16 Games over the next three years, and he was demoted to the bullpen in 1984. Hooton left for Texas as a Free Agent in 1984, but that lasted only one year before retiring.
With Los Angeles, Hooton had a 3.14 ERA with 112 Wins against 84 Losses.
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