Top 100 Yankees: #68 David Wells

Nov 28 2023 by Pinstripe Alley

 
Photo by Focus on Sport/Getty Images

The first truly great Yankees closer gets his due.

Name: Albert Walter “Sparky” Lyle
Position: Relief pitcher
Born: July 22, 1944 (Du Bois, PA)
Yankee Years: 1972-78
Primary number: 28
Yankee statistics: 745.2 IP, 420 G, 57-40, 2.41 ERA, 2.91 FIP, 148 ERA+, 141 SV, 454 K, 15.1 fWAR, 14.9 rWAR

Biography

The Yankees had pitchers who racked up saves before Sparky Lyle came along, before the contemporary definition of closer came into being in the mid-...

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