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- to late-1960s. However, the lefty was one of the first star pitchers to make their hay with the save, which only became an official stat tracked by MLB in 1969.