"Neil started the 1987 season with the Chicago White Sox, but was released on August 29. He was signed by the Yankees as a free agent on September 4, marking his second stint with the club (he pitched in 17 games with the Yankees during the 1985 season before being traded to the White Sox in February 1986). In 15 games (10 starts) with the Sox in '87 Neil was 0-7 with no saves and a 7.07 ERA.
He made three appearances with the Sox at the start of the season, but after lasting just 0.1 inning on April 18 in a start at Detroit, he was placed on the 15-day disabled list on April 21 (retroactive to April 19) with a muscle imbalance in his right arm. He began a 20-day rehabilitation program on May 6 at Daytona Beach of the 'A' Florida State League, starting four games and posting an 0-1 record with a 2.00 ERA (18 IP, 17 H, 7 BB, 17 K [1.33 WHIP]).
Neil was activated by the White Sox on May 26. He then made four appearances before pulling a hamstring in a start on June 16 at Seattle and was placed on the 15-day DL on June 17. He was moved to the 21-day DL on July 9, then was activated on July 20.
His longest outing as a starter for the White Sox came on August 4 against Toronto when he pitched seven innings and gave up nine hits (including two homers to Fred McGriff) and four runs (all earned) and was charged with Chicago's 4-1 loss. Neil made his first appearance of 1987 with the Yankees on September 6 against California and pitched 5.1 scoreless, giving up four hits with a walk and two strikeouts, but got no decision in the Yanks' 3-1 loss. Over his first four appearances with the Yankees (all in relief), he pitched 11 innings, allowing only one unearned run on six hits with one walk and seven strikeouts [0.64 WHIP].
Neil's next appearance, September 18 at Toronto, was his only start of the year as a Yankee. He allowed four runs (all earned) on eight hits (including a two-run homer to Willie Upshaw) with two walks and four strikeouts and was charged with the Yankees' 6-3 loss, his only decision with New York in '87. Neil made three relief appearances after that, giving up seven runs (six earned) in 8.2 innings pitched (6.23 ERA) along with a home run, a three-run blast by Robin Yount on September 22 at Milwaukee (Game 2). Included in that span was his last outing on September 30 against Boston, when he pitched 5.2 innings (his longest outing since rejoining the Yankees) and gave up just one unearned run on two hits with two walks and two strikeouts [0.71 WHIP].
Overall with the Yankees Neil was 0-1 with a 3.65 ERA in his eight games (24.2 IP, 23 H, 12 R, 10 ER, 10 BB, 16 K [1.34 WHIP]). For the season with both the Yankees and White Sox combined, he was 0-8 with a 5.93 ERA in 23 games (11 starts) covering 74.1 innings pitched, giving up 52 runs (49 earned) on 97 hits with 36 walks and 42 strikeouts [1.79 WHIP]. Neil has gone 25 games (two in 1986 and 23 in 1987), including 13 starts (two in 1986 and 11 in 1987), since his last win, a 2-hit 8-0 shutout over the Yankees on July 20, 1986 at Yankee Stadium, posting a record of 0-9 (0-1 in '86 and 0-8 last year) since then.
Neil was acquired by the White Sox from the Yankees on February 13, 1986 along with catcher Scott Bradley and minor league outfielder Glen Braxton in exchange for catcher Ron Hassey and minor leaguers Matt Smith, Matt Winters and Chris Alvarez. His fine 1986 season was cut short in late July with an arm injury (torn muscle fibers in his right tricep), though he returned in the season's final week to make one start. Neil topped Sox starters in winning percentage at .778 (7-2).
He spent the first month of the year in the bullpen, worked only 5.1 innings in four appearances and did not join the starting rotation until May 4. He struggled in the early going out of the bullpen, allowing eight earned runs in just 3.2 innings in his last two relief outings before becoming a starter. He allowed just three earned runs in 21.1 frames in his first three starts. Neil made just one more relief appearance after becoming a starter (May 26 at Texas) and did not suffer his first loss until dropping a 4-3 game at Anaheim on July 2.
Neil had one win and four no-decisions in his five starts but then proceeded to win six of his next nine outings. The last two of those six successes were back-to-back shutouts over Baltimore (July 13 in Chicago) and New York (July 20 at Yankee Stadium). He did notch his first complete game until blanking the Orioles just prior to the All-Star break. The shutout at New York was a 2-hitter, Neil's best career effort; he didn't walk or strike out a batter in that 8-0 conquest of the Yankees.
His scoreless innings streak reached 21.2 before being snapped at Baltimore on July 25. That was the night Neil suffered the tricep injury, leaving the game after warming up for the seventh inning.
In 1986 Neil allowed just eight homers in 113 innings, the second best ratio on on the staff behind Gene Nelson (seven in 114.2 innings). He finished the campaign with a 3.82 ERA, 3.31 as a starter.
Neil split his 1985 season between the St. Louis Cardinals and the Yankees. He opened the campaign in St. Louis and appeared in 23 games for the Cardinals. All but one of those outings came in relief. He owned a 1-4 record and a pair of saves in 29 innings of work, then was dealt to the Yankees on July 17 for cash considerations and a player to be named later. Neil had a record of 1-0 with a save and a 2.76 ERA in 17 relief appearances with the Yankees, with the win coming on September 30 against Baltimore and the save coming on August 23 at Seattle.
One of 34 players to have appeared with both the Mets and Yankees, Neil is a product of the Mets organization. In his first pro season in 1976 he posted a 2-0 record at Marion and a 4-2 mark at Wausau. In 1977, he led the Carolina League in strikeouts with 126 while pitching for Lynchburg, and his winning percentage of .833 (10-2) was also the league's best. He tied for the league lead with 11 complete games and was runner-up in ERA with a 2.79 mark.
Neil led the Texas League in ERA in 1978 with a 2.10 mark in his last season of minor league ball. He was selected to pitch in the Texas League All-Star Game that season.
He made his major league debut on April 15, 1979 at Shea Stadium against Philadelphia. He saw action in 50 games as a rookie with the Mets and posted a 6-10 record.
Neil gained his first major league victory on May 12 against the Cardinals in relief. On the disabled list from May 31-June 25, he moved to the bullpen full time on his return and excelled the rest of the season. Earning the nod as the Mets' closer, he made 38 appearances and had a 5-5 record with eight saves and a 2.06 ERA out of the bullpen. Neil's first save was on July 28, 1979 against the Cubs in New York.
In 1980, Neil established himself as one of the league's top firemen. He saved 22 games, fourth in the league, and did not permit a run in 37 of his 59 appearances. On six occasions he pitched three or more scoreless innings of relief. He was named National League Player of the Week for June 30-July 6.
Neil was third in the NL in saves in 1981 with 18 and played a part in 25 of the Mets' 41 victories in the strike-shortened season with seven wins added to the saves. He began the post-strike portion of the season with a streak of 14 scoreless innings over eight appearances while recording a pair of wins and six saves, thus earning NL Player of the Week honors for August 17-23.
In 1982, he was sixth in the NL in saves despite having his season drastically curtailed by illness and injury. He appeared in only five games after August 1; his problems included a bacterial infection of the colon and an elbow strain. Neil was one of the National League's premier relief pitchers from 1980-82, earning 59 saves in those three years.
Neil split his 1983 season between the Mets and the Cardinals. He struggled with the Mets early in the year and was shuffled between the bullpen and starting rotation. Neil was traded from the Mets to the Cardinals with pitcher Rick Ownbey on June 15 in exchange for first baseman Keith Hernandez.
The trade to St. Louis sparked him to a 5-1 start as a member of the Redbirds' rotation. Neil posted a pair of back-to-back shutouts (July 19 over San Diego and July 24 over Los Angeles), yielding only nine hits in the two games, and was named NL Player of the Week for July 18-24. He had a streak of 22 straight scoreless innings when the Expos finally scored on him on July 29. Neil then lost four straight to even his record and was moved back to the bullpen. Used primarily as the setup man for Bruce Sutter in 1984, he made 56 relief appearances and one start and owned a 9-6 record with three saves.
Neil earned varsity letters in baseball, football and basketball at Bishop Ward High School in his hometown of Kansas City, Kansas and garnered All-America honors in football as a quarterback. He was offered college football scholarships by all schools in the Big Eight Conference but opted for professional baseball instead."
-1988 New York Yankees Information Guide
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