1981 DRAKES BIG PITCHERS: SPARKY LYLE

Good day all!

On the blog today, we post my 1981 "Drake's Big Pitchers" card for Sparky Lyle, from my custom set released a few months ago:

Fun card showing the relief specialist with the Philadelphia Phillies, for whom he finished the 1`980 season with after starting the year as a Texas Ranger.

Originally up with the Boston Red Sox in 1967, all he would do from then on is put in what I think is a Hall of Fame career, appearing in 899 games, all in relief, saving 238 games while posting a record of 99-76, with an ERA of 2.88.

He took home a Cy Young Award in 1977, helping the Yankees to their first title in 13 years, and finished in third for A.L. MVP in 1972 after getting traded from Boston in one of the most lopsided trades of all-time, as he saved a league-leading 35 games with a record of 9-5 and a 1.95 ERA.

One of the great characters of the game, his many quips, antics, etc are well documented, especially during his tenure with the "Bronx Zoo" Yankee dynasty through the 1978 season.

Just a great icon of 1970s baseball!

 

THE WHOLE NINE: SERIES 2- MISSING IN ACTION: 1968 SPARKY LYLE

Good day all.

On the blog today, from my recent custom "Whole Nine: Series Two" set, not so missing 1968 card for one of the all-time relievers of the game, Sparky Lyle, who made his big league debut on July 4th of 1967 with the eventual American League champion Boston Red Sox:

Lyle appeared in 27 games for the Red Sox that year, going 1-2 with a 2.28 ERA over 43.1 innings, striking out 42 while walking 14.

All he would do from then on is put in what I think is a Hall of Fame career, appearing in 899 games, all in relief, saving 238 games while posting a record of 99-76, with an ERA of 2.88.

He took home a Cy Young Award in 1977, helping the Yankees to their first title in 13 years, and finished in third for A.L. MVP in 1972 after getting traded from Boston in one of the most lopsided trades of all-time, as he saved a league-leading 35 games with a record of 9-5 and a 1.95 ERA.

One of the great characters of the game, his many quips, antics, etc are well documented, especially during his tenure with the "Bronx Zoo" Yankee dynasty through the 1978 season.

Just a great icon of 1970s baseball!

 

1970'S ALL-DECADE TEAM: A.L. RELIEVER SPARKY LYLE

Today on the blog, we have my pick for the American League relief pitcher of the 1970s, a character if there ever was one, Sparky Lyle:

Benefiting from a FULL decade in the American league, I picked Sparky over guys like Rollie Fingers or Mike Marshall, as he would help the New York Yankees win two championships, take home a Cy Young Award in 1977, and finish top-3 for an MVP Award in 1972 among many other accomplishments!

Coming over from the Boston Red Sox before the 1972 season, which is often cited as terribly one-sided in favor of the Yankees, it paid instant dividends in the Bronx, as Lyle posted a 9-5 record with a 1.92 earned run average and league-leading 35 saves in his first year there.

He'd even finish seventh in Cy Young voting, as well as third in Most Valuable Player voting during the post-season.

Five years later in 1977, Lyle would win the Cy Young Award, going 13-5 with a league-leading 23 saves and a 2.17 E.R.A., and he'd finish fifth in M.V.P. Voting.

But with Rich "Goose" Gossage joining the Yanks the following year, he'd find himself off to Texas by 1979, and retired from the game in 1982 after a handful of games with the White Sox.

All told Sparky would post 238 lifetime saves in 899 games, setting a record for career games all in relief.

I'm not sure, but it still may be the record actually. Have to check.

 

EXPANDED LEAGUE LEADERS: 1978 A.L. FIREMEN

On the blog today, we move on to the American league and the top three relievers of the 1977 season proudly showcased on a 1978 “expanded league leader: card:

 

We begin with Bill Campbell, “Soup”, who had a great first season with the Boston Red Sox after coming over from the Minnesota Twins.

The man went 13-9 with a 2.96 earned run average while saving a league-leading 31 games, giving him his 44 “points” to come out on top for the A.L.’s premier fireman.

The 1977 season followed an even better 1976 season that saw him win 17 games while saving 20 for the Twins, appearing in 78 games while closing out 68, throwing an incredible 308 innings in relief over those two campaigns!

In second place with 39 points, funny enough, the pitcher who would take home the A.L. Cy Young Award in 1977, New York Yankees closer Sparky Lyle, who also had a fantastic season out of the bullpen, going 13-5 with 26 saves while pitching to a brilliant 2.17 ERA in 137 innings.

Lyle was a stallion of the Yankees bullpen since 1972, and helped them all the way back to glory with a World Series win in 1977, their first championship since 1962.

In third place with 32 points, Chicago White Sox reliever Lerrin LaGrow, who was converted to a reliever and found success, going 7-3 out of the ‘pen with 25 saves, posting a very nice 2.46 ERA over 66 appearances and 98.2 innings of work.

Easily the best season of the man’s 10-year Big League career, LaGrow previously made his mark in the Majors as a starter for the Detroit Tigers in the early-70’s, though finding some tough luck with a 19-loss and 14-loss season in 1974 and 1975.

Well there you go!

The top relievers in the Junior Circuit for 1977 on a 1978 “expanded league leader” card.

EXPANDED LEAGUE LEADERS: 1977 A.L. FIREMEN

On the blog today, we move on to the American League’s top three “firemen” of the 1976 season, celebrated on a 1977 “expanded league leader” card:

 

 

We begin with a reliever who had a couple of outstanding seasons in the mid-70’s, Bill Campbell, aka “Soup”, who paced the league with his 37 points.

Campbell’s 1976 season was incredible, as he would appear in a league-leading 78 games for the Minnesota Twins while posting a record of 17-5, with 20 saves and a 3.01 earned run average over 167.2 innings, all out of the bullpen.

Those numbers were enough for a seventh place finish in the Cy Young Award and an eighth-place finish in the MVP race, and rightly so!

I’ve always been fascinated by relievers who posted incredible high-inning seasons completely out of the bullpen, and Campbells 1976 season ranks high up there.

In second place with 33 points, Hall of Famer Rollie Fingers, who posted a record of 13-11 with 20 saves in his final year with the Oakland A’s, with a brilliant 2.47 ERA over 70 appearances and 134.2 innings of work.

Another workhorse out of the bullpen, it’s no surprise the man’s Big League output would eventually lead to a Hall of Fame induction, at the time a rare occurrence for a dedicated reliever.

In third place with 30 points, a man who I feel should be in the Hall of Fame, Sparky Lyle of the New York Yankees, who led the league with his 23 saves while posting a record of 7-8 with a 2.26 ERA over 103.2 innings for the A.L. champs.

Lyle would follow up his excellent 1976 season with an even better 1977, taking home the A.L. Cy Young Award based on his 13-5 record, with 26 saves and a 2.17 ERA over 72 games and 137 innings of work, helping the Yanks win their first championship since 1962.

I absolutely loved him as a kid, pitching for my Yanks, and was heartbroken when he was sent to the Texas Rangers in part because of the arrival of Rich Gossage, who took over the reliever role for the foreseeable future.

There you have it, the top three “firemen” called upon to put out those late-inning fires, eating up innings and saving games in the American League in 1976.

EXPANDED LEAGUE-LEADERS: 1974 A.L. FIREMEN

On the blog today, we come to the American League's top firemen of 1973 with my 1974 expanded league leader card:

 

Leading the way with his 48 'points" is Detroit Tigers reliever John Hiller, who had one of the best seasons for a relief pitcher during the 1970's incredibly after suffering a heart attack in 1971 at only 27 years of age.

Despite the real threat of having his career over because of the heart attack, Hiller made his way back and in 1973 dominated, appearing in a league-leading 68 games, setting a new record with 38 saves, and pitching to a sparkling 1.44 earned run average over 125.1 innings and a record of 10-5.

Those numbers got him a fourth place finish in both the Cy Young and MVP race at season's end, and set a standard for saves until guys like Dan Quisenberry and Bruce Sutter came along in the 1980's.

Behind Hiller with 32 points was New York Yankees reliever Sparky Lyle, who followed up a tremendous 1972 campaign with another great season, posting 27 saves to go with his five wins, finishing up with an ERA of 2.51 over 51 appearances, earning him his first All-Star nod in the process.

In third place with 29 points, future Hall of Famer Rollie Fingers, who helped the Oakland A's to their second straight championship with his 29 points, 22 saves to go along with his seven wins over 62 appearances, finishing up with a very nice 1.92 ERA over 126.2 innings pitched.

Just as with Lyle, these numbers would also get Fingers his first All-Star nod, something he would end up doing seven times before his great career would come to an end in 1985.

There you have it! The full 1974 "expanded league leader" series. Hope you're enjoying the ride!

Next we move on to the 1975 Topps set with a full run of expanded league leader cards.

EXPANDED YEARLY LEADER CARDS: 1973 A.L. FIREMEN

Today we come to the last 1973 "expanded league leaders" card in my recent thread of creating dedicated league leader cards celebrating the top 3 in their respective category, and this one is for the American League Firemen of 1972:

 

We start off with the New York Yankees Sparky Lyle, who had himself quite a year with his league leading 35 saves and 44 points.

Lyle posted a record of 9-5 with a very nice 1.92 ERA over 107.2 innings in his first season with the Bronx Bombers.

Of course, he would take home the A.L. Cy Young Award five years later when he'd go 13-5, with 26 saves and a 2.17 ERA for the eventual World Champion Yanks, on his way to a Hall-worthy (in my opinion) career that saw him appear in 899 games, all out of the bullpen, saving 238 games while winning 99.

In second place with 35 points is former Chicago White Sox reliever Terry Forster, another pitcher who put in a nice lengthy MLB career.

It was Forster's first full season in the Big Leagues, and he did not disappoint, going 6-5 over 62 appearances, with a nice 2.25 ERA over 100 innings, saving 29 games. He would eventually finish up with 16 seasons under his belt, saving 127 games while appearing in 614, with a final ERA of 3.23.

In third place with 32 points, none other than future Hall of Famer Rollie Fingers, who was still in the beginning of what would be an excellent 17 year Major League career.

In 1972 Fingers helped the Oakland A's to the first of their three straight championships, going 11-9 with 21 saves, posting an ERA of 2.51 over 111.1 innings of work.

Of course, he would go on to put in season after season of excellent relief work, starring for the A's, then the San Diego Padres, followed by the Milwaukee Brewers, for whom he'd take home a Cy Young and MVP Award in 1981 when he helped them make the postseason for the first time in their franchise's history, posting a microscopic 1.04 ERA over 47 games, with a league-leading 28 saves in the strike-shortened campaign.

By the time he was done in 1985, he finished with a (then) MLB record 341 saves over 944 games, with an excellent 2.90 ERA and seven All-Star nods.

Well there you have it! 1973 "expanded league leaders" is a wrap.

Next we move on to 1974 and tackle those stats, giving the top-3 in each league the props they deserved!

A RE-DO OF ONE OF MY OWN- 1972 TRADED SPARKY LYLE

Recently a buddy of mine asked me to create a 1972 “Traded” card for Sparky Lyle, one of the great New York Yankee trades in the franchise’s history.
And although I already created a version that differed from what Topps did with their “Traded” sub-set, I figured I may as well toe-the-line and create one true to the original idea:

Originally depicted as a Boston Red Sox player in the '72 set, Lyle was traded by the Sox for Danny Cater right before the regular season in March.
I originally decided NOT to use the traded format Topps issued that year, since I've always thought it was a terrible design.
It was bad enough Topps didn't have player positions on their regular-issue cards in the set (a set I DO love mind you), but for their traded sub-set they even failed to have the team name running across the top!
As for the trade, which is often cited as terribly one-sided in favor of the Yankees, it paid instant dividends in the Bronx, as Lyle posted a 9-5 record with a 1.92 earned run average and league-leading 35 saves in his first year there.
He'd even finish seventh in Cy Young voting, as well as third in Most Valuable Player voting during the post-season.
Five years later in 1977, Lyle would win the Cy Young Award, going 13-5 with a league-leading 23 saves and a 2.17 E.R.A., and he'd finish fifth in M.V.P. Voting.
Not too shabby!

1975 IN-ACTION: SPARKY LYLE

The nest player to be added to the 1975 “In-Action” series I’ve been running is relief pitcher extraordinaire Sparky Lyle of the New York Yankees:

Lyle was entering his fourth season with the Yanks after coming over from the Boston Red Sox, and was coming off of another brilliant season in 1974 that saw him go 9-3 with a sparkling 1.66 earned run average over 66 games and 114 innings of work.
In his 1st year with the Bronx Bombers, he was lights out, going 9-5 with a league-leading 35 saves and a 1.92 ERA, finishing third in the AL MVP race.
Just two years into the future, he’d put it all together when he’d win the AL Cy Young Award after going 13-5 with 26 saves and a 2.17 ERA for the World Champ Yanks, throwing 137 innings over 72 games.
Of course, all that got him was a new teammate in 1978 by the name of Rich “Goose” Gossage, who would make Lyle trade-bait come 1979, leading to the ever-famous Graig Nettles line, “You went from Cy Young to Sayonara”.
Nevertheless, by the time he retired after the 1982 season, he appeared in 899 Major League games, all in relief, with 238 saves and a 99-76 record to go with his excellent 2.88 ERA over 16 seasons.

CY YOUNG AWARD WINNERS- 1978 SUB-SET

We move on to the 1978 set and an imagined 1977 Cy Young Winners card in my running series of award-winners through the 1970’s, with Steve Carlton and Sparky Lyle:

In the National League, Carlton was once again on top of the NL pitching world, winning his second Cy Young with a brilliant 1977 campaign, leading the league with 23 wins while posting a 2.64 earned run average and 198 strikeouts over his 36 starts and 283 innings pitched.
Of course, he would go on to win two more awards, becoming the first pitcher ever to do so since the award was established in 1956, on his way to becoming one of the greatest lefty-pitchers of all-time with 329 wins and 4136 strikeouts over 24 seasons of Big League ball.
Needless to say Cooperstown was a lock by the time he was eligible, getting picked on 436 of 456 ballots in 1994, ensuring his place in baseball immortality.
Over in the American League, it was a bit of a “first”, as Sparky Lyle of the New York Yankees became the first relief pitcher in that league’s history to win the award, edging out two-time reigning king Jim Palmer of the Baltimore Orioles.
Lyle had an amazing season for the eventual World Champs, posting a record of 13-5 with a 2.17 earned run average and 26 saves over 72 games and 137 innings pitched, all out of the bullpen of course.
As a matter of fact all of his 899 Major League appearances over his 16-year career would be out of the ‘pen, as he’d finish his career with a record of 99-76, with a very nice 2.88 ERA and 238 saves between 1967 and 1982.
It was a bit of a bittersweet award win for Lyle however, as the Yankees would soon acquire another all-star reliever, Rich Gossage.
This would lead to one of the great baseball quotes of the decade when third baseman Graig Nettles said to Lyle: “You went from Cy Young to Cy-onara”.
Classic, and true, as Lyle was shipped off to the Texas Rangers after the 1978 season in a trade that would net them, among others, a young pitcher named Dave Righetti, ironically enough the arm that would take over for Rich Gossage out of the bullpen years later.

TRADED: 1979 SPARKY LYLE

As a young Yankee fan in 1979, I was confused and heartbroken when my older cousin Tony told me that one of my favorite Yanks, Sparky Lyle, was traded to the Texas Rangers.

What made it more confusing was tearing open Topps packs a couple months later to see Lyle STILL donning the pinstripes.

So here is an "updated" 1979 traded card for the former all-star reliever, showing him on his proper team:

Really the best usable image I could find of him in Texas garb believe it or not.

Traded in November of 1978 to Texas, it would be the trade that got the Yankees Dave Righetti, though he wasn't the main cog in the massive 10-player transaction that also included Juan Beniquez, Mike Heath and Domino Ramos, among others.

What a great career Lyle put up: 899 lifetime appearances, ALL in relief, a Cy Young Award in 1977 when he went 13-5 with a 2.17 ERA and 26 saves over 72 games, two top-10 MVP finishes in 1972 and 1977, three all-star nods, and two championships as part of the famous "Bronx Zoo" Yankee teams of the late-70's.

A character among characters, funny enough he is currently involved with the Somerset Patriots of the Atlantic League not 10 minutes from my home. And he's still the life of the party!

TRADED: 1972 SPARKY LYLE

Here's a 1972 "Traded" card for Sparky Lyle, who was quite possibly the first cog in the eventual "Bronx Zoo" World Champs of the late-1970's:

Originally depicted as a Boston Red Sox player in the '72 set, Lyle was traded by the Sox for Danny Cater right before the regular season in March.

I decided NOT to use the traded format Topps issued that year, since I've always thought it was a terrible design.

It was bad enough Topps didn't have player positions on their regular-issue cards in the set (a set I DO love mind you), but for their traded sub-set they even failed to have the team name running across the top!

Anyway, I went with a simple modification to the regular design, enlarging the name box along the bottom to add a traded line.

As for the trade, which is often cited as terribly one-sided in favor of the Yankees, it paid instant dividends in the Bronx, as Lyle posted a 9-5 record with a 1.92 earned run average and league-leading 35 saves in his first year there.

He'd even finish seventh in Cy Young voting, as well as third in Most Valuable Player voting during the post-season.

Five years later in 1977, Lyle would win the Cy Young Award, going 13-5 with a league-leading 23 saves and a 2.17 E.R.A., and he'd finish fifth in M.V.P. Voting.

But with Rich "Goose" Gossage joining the Yanks the following year, he'd find himself off to Texas by 1979, and retired from the game in 1982 after a handful of games with the White Sox.

All told Sparky would post 238 lifetime saves in 899 games, setting a record for career games all in relief.

I'm not sure, but it still may be the record actually. Have to check.

Nowadays he manages the Somerset Patriots of the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball, an independent league.

Just so happens the Patriots' home field is minutes from my newly adopted town of Franklin Township, N.J., and I hope to see some games next season.

Maybe I'll hit Lyle up for an autograph on THIS creation right here...