Littell started seven of those eight games, something that would change as he would go on to play nine years in the Big Leagues, making his mark as a steady relief pitcher.
He went 1-3 in his first taste of the Major leagues, with a 5.68 earned run average in 38 innings of work before spending all of 1974 in the Minor Leagues.
In 1975 he was back and became a solid arm out of the bullpen for the upstart Kansas City Royals, who were about to lead the American League West for the better part of the next decade.
Sadly for him, Littell is most remembered as the pitcher who gave up one of the most famous home runs in Post Season history when Chris Chambliss sent the New York Yankees to the World Series with his walk-off shot that barely cleared the wall in the fifth game of the 1976 American League Championship.
Nevertheless, by the time he retired after the 1982 season, he appeared in 316 games and posted a record of 32-31 with a nice 3.32 ERA over 532 innings, with 56 saves playing for the Royals between 1973 and 1977 and St. Louis Cardinals between 1978 and 1982.
