Lyle
was one of the AL's best relievers
for over a decade with the Red Sox
and Yankees, leading the league in
saves in 1972 and 1976, and in 1977
he became the first reliever ever to
win the AL
Cy Young Award. A wisecracking
lefthander with a sizable paunch
visible beneath his uniform, Lyle
relied on a crackling slider almost
exclusively in his heyday but also
possessed a good fastball and a
capable curve. He never started a ML
game...Book
Sparky Lyle for Your Event
Lyle pitched briefly for the Red Sox
as a rookie in 1967, but not at all
in the WS, and in 1968 he began to
emerge as their bullpen ace,
finishing 6-1 with 11 saves and a
2.74 ERA. He saved 17 games in 1969
(third in the AL), 20 in 1970, and
16 in 1971, but before the 1972
season he was traded to the rival
Yankees even-up for first baseman
Danny Cater, one of the worst
trades in Red Sox history. Lyle
immediately led the AL with 35 saves
for the Yankees in 1972 while
recording a 1.91 ERA, and he added
27 saves in 1973, a career-low 1.66
ERA in 1974, and an AL-best 23 saves
in 1976 as the Yankees won the AL
championship. In 1977 Lyle was even
better, winning 13 games and saving
26 (second in the AL), then adding a
win in the WS as the Yankees beat
the Dodgers in six games and Lyle
captured the AL Cy Young Award.
By the spring of 1978, however, Lyle
was feuding with Yankee management,
irked over owner
George Steinbrenner's decision
to sign relief aces Rich Gossage and
Rawley Eastwick as free agents
despite the presence of Lyle in the
club's bullpen. Gossage became the
club's closer, and after the season
Lyle was traded to Texas in a
10-player-deal that brought
Dave Righetti to the Bronx. By
1980, Lyle's slider had lost its
snap, and he saved only 15 games in
three final seasons with the
Rangers, Phillies, and White Sox. He
made his feelings about playing for
the Yankees known in The Bronx
Zoo, a book he wrote with Pete
Golenbock in 1979.
