Almost 30 years to the day he broke into the major leagues, a humble, but proud Bruce Sutter toured the National Baseball Hall of Fame on Tuesday, during an orientation visit for his 2006 Induction Ceremony.

Sutter, the only former player elected by the Baseball Writers Association of America in January, accumulated exactly 300 saves during a 12-year major league career that was shortened by injury.

"This place is so special," Sutter said to a group of reporters in the Hall of Fame Gallery after taking his tour. "To think my plaque will be beside Paul Molitor and below (former teammate) Ozzie Smith, it's numbing."

The 2006 Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony will be held July 30 on the grounds of the Clark Sports Center. Also honored that day will be Ford C. Frick winner Gene Alston, J.G Taylor Spink Award winner Tracy Ringolsby and 17 electees from a special Negro Leagues committee election, including Effa Manley, the first woman ever elected to the Hall.

The only pitcher elected to the Hall of Fame who never started a game, Sutter began his career on May 8, 1976 with the Chicago Cubs, but had the best four years of his career as a St. Louis Cardinal from 1981-84, earning two saves in the Cardinals' 1982 World Series victory over the Milwaukee Brewers. During those four seasons, Sutter, the 1979 Cy Young Award winner and six-time All Star, accumulated 125 saves, including a career-high 45 saves in 1984.

Sutter said what probably set him apart from contemporaries like Rich (Goose) Gossage and all-time saves leader Lee Smith, both of whom have not gained election to the Hall, was the split-finger pitch he threw which dove downward as it approached the plate.

"If you look at (Yankees closer) Mariano Rivera today, hitters know what he's going to throw and they still can't hit it," Sutter said. "With the split-finger, it was the same thing. Hitters knew I was going to throw it, and that it would probably end up in the dirt, but they would still swing and miss. I wouldn't be here without that pitch."

Although injuries to his shoulder eventually ended his career, it was an injury early in his minor league career in 1973 which led Sutter to learn the split-finger pitch in the first place.

"I hurt my elbow, and after that I was afraid to throw a slider," Sutter recalled. "(Minor league pitching coach) Fred Martin taught me the split-finger. My fastball and slider were short of major league material, and without the split-finger I never would have made it to the big leagues."

Sutter, 53, almost didn't make it into the Hall of Fame either, getting elected in his 13th year of eligibility, receiving 400 of the 520 votes cast, or 76.9 percent of the vote. Candidates needed 390 votes for election.

"Most years, I planned a hunting trip around election time, but this was the first time I felt like I had a good shot," Sutter said. "As far as my speech goes, it's all done. I was a short reliever, and I'll give a short speech."