TODAY IN BASEBALL HISTORY

On March 22, 1972, the New York Yankees made one of the best trades in franchise history. The Yankees acquire reliever Sparky Lyle from the Boston Red Sox for infielder Danny Cater. In seven seasons with the Yankees, Lyle will post a 57-40 record with 141 saves and a 2.41 ERA, win a Cy Young Award, and help the team to three World Series and two titles. Meanwhile, Cater will play 3 seasons for the Red Sox, playing in 211 games, hitting 262 with a 685 OPS, driving in 83 runs. By 73, there wasn't much room for Cater as Yaz moved to first, and a young Cecil Cooper was waiting in the wings. Cater will be traded in early 75 and play his last season with the Cardinals.

Sparky spent the heart of his career, 1972 to 1978, with the Yankees. In 1972, he saved 35 games, an American League record, and a major league record for left-handers; Ron Perranoski had set both marks in 1970, but John Hiller would surpass Lyle's total with 38 in 1973. In 1972, Lyle also became the first southpaw to collect 100 saves in the American League. He also finished third in the 1972 MVP voting.

In 1976, Lyle led the league with 23 saves and made his postseason debut, pitching in the ALCS and World Series. He appeared in 3 games and over 3.2 innings, giving up no earned runs and just one hit. Despite his efforts, the Yankees were swept by Cincinnati in the 76 World Series.

1977 was the peak for Sparky in New York; he had been great to date in his first 5 seasons, going 35-32 with 106 saves, 2 All-Star games, and a top 3 MVP finish. But 77 would be a game changer. Sparky will pitch in a career high of 72 games and a whopping 137 innings. He will finish 60 of the 72 games, recording 26 saves and 13 wins. He will become the first relief pitcher to win the Cy Young award despite the excellent years by Jim Palmer, Nolan Ryan, and Frank Tanana (who led the league with an 8.3 War). However, the regular season was just part of the story. In the ALCS vs Kansas City, he pitched in 4 of the 5 games, 9.1 innings, 4 games finished, allowing 1 earned run, and won 2 of the 3 games, including 1 5-and-a-third-inning appearance. In the World Series, he pitched twice, 4.2 innings, 1 earned run, and he won game 1.

After Sparky won the Cy Young Award in 1977, the Yankees signed Rich Gossage as a free agent. Sparky season showed he was feeling the workload of 77, his ERA jumped from 2.17 to 3.49, and he became the second option for the bombers, recording just 9 saves, the second lowest of his career. The Yankees repeated as World Champions in 1978, but Lyle became much less of a factor as Gossage was the man on the mound to record the final out in the playoff game vs. Boston, the ALCS vs. Kansas City, and the final out of the World Series.

After the season, the Yankees sent Lyle to the Texas Rangers in a multi-player trade that brought over Dave Righetti, among others. In the tradition of Ball Four by Jim Bouton, Lyle authored (with Peter Golenbock) The Bronx Zoo, a 1979 tell-all of his trials and tribulations as a member of the Yankees in that 1978 season.

Sparky, however, was in decline. He wanted to be in Texas, but he lasted only 1 full season. After nearly being traded to Philadelphia (for Tug McGraw, imagine how that would have changed things) during the offseason, he was traded at the deadline to the Phillies (For Kevin Saucier) and played for them for the balance of 1980, 81, and most of 1982. In 1982, he finished the season with the White Sox in Chicago.

How it ended:
The White Sox released him on October 12, 1982. At 38, and a ballooning era of 4.41 since 1979, Lyle retired. Lyle finished his 16-year career with 238 saves, a 2.88 ERA, and a record of 99–76 in 899 games pitched — all in relief. In 1985, Fingers broke his American League record for career saves, and in 1991, Righetti surpassed Lyle's major-league record for career saves by a left-hander, though Lyle still holds the AL mark of 232.

He wasn't MO, but he was good!
In the postseason, Lyle made 13 appearances, pitched 21 innings, and gave up just 4 earned runs for a 1.69 ERA. Even at 36 in 1981, Sparky pitched in 3 games for the Phillies and didn't allow a run.

The prankster!
Lyle was a world-class prankster during his playing days. His trademark prank involved leaving an imprint of his rear end on birthday cakes for his teammates, and he retired from the practice after fearing that someone would one day bake a cake with a needle inside that he'd sit on. He was also one of the premier practitioners of the hotfoot.

Enter the . . . .
Lyle, along with Marty Appel, was associated with a trademark song to herald his entry into games, Pomp and Circumstance March. I looked and could not find any video or broadcast with that audio.

Todays highlights and Historic Days!

Born: March 22, 1926 in Concord, NC The versatile Billy Goodman led the AL in batting with a .354 mark in 1950, one of five times he hit .300. He hit .290 or better 11 straight years (1948-58). But despite his steady hitting and versatile fielding, Goodman never quite achieved stardom. He was an 18-year-old free agent when he played his first year of pro baseball with the Atlanta Crackers in 1944. His first season would be a memorable one as the young outfielder would lead the Southern Association in runs scored with 122 and triples with 13. Billy also was near the leaders with a .336 batting average.

March 22, 1962 -- A former member of the New York Giants requesting anonymity reveals that Bobby Thomson's home run in the 1951 playoffs against the Brooklyn Dodgers was helped by a sign-stealing clubhouse spy. The spying is claimed to have gone on for the last three months of the season. Thomson, along with former Giants manager Leo Durocher, vehemently denies that he received help, but a source close to the team confirms the spy operation.

March 22, 1962 -- At spring training, Yankees slugger Roger Maris declines to pose with Mets coach Rogers Hornsby because the Hall of Famer criticized him in his book My Wars with Baseball.

March 22, 1976 -- The California Angels' groundskeeper finds hundreds of marijuana plants growing in the outfield at Anaheim Stadium. The culprits? Most likely rock fans who attended a recent performance at the stadium by The Who.

March 22, 1981 --American League President Lee MacPhail suspends Baltimore Orioles manager Earl Weaver for removing his team from the field and forfeiting a spring training game to the Kansas City Royals. It is the fourth career suspension for Weaver, who was upset that the umpires did not provide him with an official batting order after Kansas City made numerous substitutions. Weaver's suspension will last three days.

March 22, 1993 - Cleveland Indians pitchers Steve Olin and Tim Crews are killed, and Bob Ojeda is seriously injured, when the motorboat in which they are riding strikes a pier on Little Lake Nellie near Winter Haven, Florida. Crews and Olin are the first active major leaguers to die since Thurman Munson in 1979.

March 22, 2005 — Giants’ slugger Barry Bonds, 11 home runs shy of passing Babe Ruth on the all-time list, indicates he may not play this season. The 40 year-old National League MVP, who has had two knee operations and implicated in the sport’s steroids scandal, cites being physically and mentally “done,” and blames the media for much of his unhappiness.Daily Highlight Page

TRIVIA

TRIVIA: In todays game every closer has an entrance song, Trevor Hoffman came in to Hells Bell and Mo came in to Enter the Sandman. It was not as popular when Lyle pitched. But he did have a song they played. What was it?

IF you think you know the answer and bonus points for how many respond with details and if you are right I will give you a shut out! No Googling!

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 ANSWER TO YESTERDAY’S TRIVIA

YESTERDAY'S TRIVIA: Tommy Davis hit two triples in game 2 of the 1963 World Series, 5 other players hit?

Answer: In the order they were accomplished: Tommy Leach 10/1/03, Patsy Dougherty 10/7/03, Dutch Ruether 10/1/19, Bobby Richardson 10/12/60, and Mark Lemke 10/24/91

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