Former Cards pitching coach Mike Roarke dies at 88; he was Bruce Sutter's mentor

Pitching coach Mike Roarke (background) watches as Willie McGee is congratulated by Cardinals teammates after hitting a homer on July 22, 1986. (Post-Dispatch photo by J.B. Forbes)

Mike Roarke, the pitching coach for the 1985 and 1987 National League champion Cardinals who also was instrumental in the development of Bruce Sutter into a Hall of Fame reliever, died at age 88 on July 27 in his home of Warwick, R.I.

Roarke, who was captain of both the baseball and football teams at Boston College, was a backup catcher for the Detroit Tigers from 1961-64 before going into coaching.