1977 AMERICAN LEAGUE ALL-STAR
"Super flake. Sparky is one of the outstanding relief pitchers in the history of the game. He has 175 career saves, including 134 in five seasons with the Yankees, and led the American League with 23 last year. He has 549 major league relief appearances, all in relief.
'Also, I'm the first pitcher in major league history to appear in 500 games and never throw a fastball for a strike,' he jokes. Sparky is renowned as a practical joker.
Born in Dubois, Pennsylvania, Sparky was signed by the Orioles, drafted by the Red Sox, then traded to the Yankees in 1972 and has been the top bull in the Yankee pen ever since. Sparky possesses a wicked slider, his money pitch."
-Phil Pepe, The Complete Handbook of Baseball, 1977 Edition
"Sparky Lyle ranks among the top relief pitchers of all time. He's been the leader of the Yankee bullpen crew for five years, beginning in 1972 when he captured the hearts of New Yorkers with his daily heroics. Year after year, he's been a hard working, statistically impressive, artistically successful craftsman whose stock in trade is a devastating slider and the ability to intimidate hitters.
Sparky, 32, broke in with the Red Sox in the pennant winning year of 1967, and they still love him in Boston, too. He's got the personality to win and retain friends wherever he goes, and his fans stay with him through good times and bad. Seldom has a player captured the hearts of his faithful so well.
Lyle has a lifetime earned run average of 2.49, one of the best in baseball. And it's been compiled strictly in relief; not one of his 549 major league games has been in a starting assignment, a tribute to the age of specialization, where one man has found his niche and performs it better than anyone else."
-The New York Yankees Official 1977 Yearbook
"Sparky Lyle is one of baseball's premier relief pitchers of all time. His 549 games pitched without ever making a start makes him second on the list of 'pure relief specialists,' Bob Locker having made 576 appearances. Six more games and Sparky enters the top ten on the all-time Yankee list of games pitched. He holds the Yankee records of 66 appearances in 1974 and of 59 games finished that year.
His first season with the Yankees, 1972, was his most magnificent, as he was the Fireman of the Year, setting a (then) American League record of 35 saves. He'd regally enter a game to the strains of Pomp and Circumstance and dazzle the crowd all year. He was given the bullpen car at the end of the season and finished third in the MVP voting.
Since then, Sparky has had his good years and his off years but remains a top relief pitcher. He led the American League with 23 saves last season, giving him a lifetime total of 175, although rule changes over the years make it difficult to properly evaluate someone's total against another man's. The Baseball Encyclopedia lists Lyle number one in career saves. His career ERA of 2.49 is one of baseball's best. He has 141 saves or wins in five Yankee seasons.
Sparky still throws that hard slider and will always challenge a hitter.
Named Most Cooperative by New York Press Photographers in 1973, Sparky is a free spirit with a love of life, well liked by all who know him."
-1977 New York Yankees Press/TV/Radio Guide
"Lyle has pitched in more games as a 'pure' relief pitcher than any other hurler in history- he's now nearing 600 without a start. His lifetime ERA (including the first 11 weeks of '77) is 2.44 for 10 major league seasons.
This is Sparky's third All-Star selection."
-1977 All-Star Game Official Program
"Yankee pitching was one of the keys to the pennant drive, and reliever Sparky Lyle was the mainstay of the staff. Sparky became baseball's all-time top relief pitcher during the season, with more lifetime appearances without a start than any other pitcher in history. Sparky is also the all-time save leader.
He set personal marks in 1977, with more wins and innings pitched than at any other time during his illustrious career."
-1977 World Series Official Program
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