Sparky Lyle

Birthdate	7/22/1944
Death Date
Debut Year	1967
Year of Induction
Teams	Phillies, Rangers, Red Sox, White Sox, Yankees
Position	Pitcher

In 1977 Sparky Lyle became the first American League relief pitcher to earn the Cy Young Award; he revolutionized the role of relievers.

In the collection:

The trade that brought Sparky Lyle to the Yankees from Boston was one-sided in favor of New York

The March, 1972 trade of Danny Cater and Mario Guerrero for Sparky Lyle helped the Yankees regain baseball prominence. It had a lasting effect on the franchise that continued even after Lyle moved on. Yankee relievers totaled just 12 saves in 1971. That performance left them in search of a bonafide

Yankee relievers totaled just 12 saves in 1971. That performance left them in search of a bonafide closer. General Manager Lee MacPhail zeroed in on Lyle.

In his first 5 big league seasons from 1967-1971, Lyle was solid. During that time with Boston he posted a 17-12 record, 69 saves, and a 2.85 ERA. MacPhail offered Cater and a player to be named later.

At that time of the deal Cater was an eight-year big league veteran with a .279 career average. In 1970 his .301 average was behind only Thurman Munson among Yankee regulars while his 76 RBI put him third on the team. Cater followed that up with a solid .276 average in ’71.

Boston agreed to the exchange.

It didn’t turn out well for the Red Sox. Cater lasted just two years in Beantown. In his four seasons after leaving New York he .260 with a .299 on-base percentage, 14 homers and 85 RBI in 727 plate appearances. Guerrero, the player to be named later, hit .241 with a .278 on-base percentage in 159 games spanning two seasons for the Sox.

Meanwhile, Lyle blossomed into a full-fledged star. He was downright spectacular in his 7 years with the Yankees.

His first season in New York featured a 1.92 ERA to go along with a league-leading 35 saves. In ’73 his 27 saves and 2.51 ERA earned Lyle his first All Star selection. More excellence was ahead in ’74 when Lyle went 9-3 with 15 saves and a 1.66 ERA.

After his ERA rose to 3.12 in ’75, Lyle came back strong in ’76. He had a stingy 2.23 ERA with a league-leading 23 saves. That same year he broke Hall of Famer Hoyt Wilhelm‘s AL record of 154 career saves. Behind Lyle, the Yankees won the pennant.

With his 180th career save the next season, Lyle surpassed Ron Perranoski’s MLB career save mark for lefties. The ’77 campaign included an AL-best and career-high 72 appearances, and 60 games finished. He went 13-5 with 26 saves and a 2.17 ERA – the lowest mark among AL relievers – and the Yankees repeated as AL champs.

In the Fall Classic Lyle pitched two games and came away with a win and a 1.93 World Series ERA. His performance helped the Yankees end a 15-year title drought. Eight days after earning his World Series ring, Lyle became the first reliever in American League history to win the Cy Young Award.

In 1978 New York signed free-agent closer Goose Gossage. Now in the setup role, Lyle responded by going 9-3. By the end of the season the Yankees repeated as world champs. Three weeks after the ’78 Fall Classic triumph, Lyle headlined a 10-player trade that brought the Rangers’ top prospect Dave Righetti to the Bronx.

Lyle played four more seasons after leaving the Yankees, suiting up for the Rangers, Phillies and White Sox. He retired after the ’82 season with 238 saves, a 2.88 ERA and 99 wins. All of his 899 appearances came in relief.

In the collection is this Sparky Lyle autographed Strat-O-Matic card from 1970. Bucknell University math major Hal Richman originated the Strat-O-Matic game in 1961. Advertised in Sports Illustrated and sold out of Richman’s basement, Strat-O-Matic gave its players the ability to make managerial decisions based on MLB statistics.

The Yankees 1978 acquisition of Goose Gossage made Lyle go "from Cy Young to sayonara”

Sparky Lyle won the Cy Young Award in 1977 when he pitched in a league-leading 72 games and went 13-5 with a 2.17 ERA and 26 saves for the World Champion Yankees. In the off season the Yankees acquired Goose Gossage who immediately replaced replaced the Cy Young winner at the back end of the bullpe

New York third baseman Graig Nettles quipped that Lyle went, “from Cy Young to sayonara”.

The Yankees made Nettles’ utterance a reality when they traded Lyle to the Rangers in November, 1978. The trade was a great one for the Yankees who acquired Dave Righetti.

At the time of the deal, Lyle’s career record was 79-57 with a 2.55 ERA and 210 saves. After the trade Lyle played four more seasons, posting a 20-19 mark with a 4.02 ERA and 28 saves.

Meanwhile, the 19-year old Righetti developed into a bonafide star. The 1981 Rookie of the Year tossed a no-hitter in ’83 before becoming a closer himself. He ended his career with 252 career saves – all but four for the Yankees and 14 more than Lyle.

Shown here is Yankee check made out to Gossage three days before the start of the ’78 World Series against the Dodgers. The Game 4 winner, Gossage did not allow a run in the six innings of his three appearances in the six-game Yankee triumph.

inquiries