Sparky Lyle

Pitcher · Career Stats, Bio & Records (1967-1982)

W–L 99–76
ERA 2.88
WHIP 1.28
SO 873
Pitcher PIV 16426.0
Position
Pitcher
Bats / Throws
L / L
Height / Weight
6'1" / 182 lb
Born
7/22/1944 in DuBois, PA, USA
MLB Debut
1967-07-04
Last Game
1982-09-27
Awards
3× All-Star · Cy Young

Full name: Albert Walter Lyle

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Career Pitching Statistics

W L G GS CG SHO SV IP H ER HR BB SO ERA Pitcher PIV
99 76 899 0 0 0 238 1390.3 1,292 445 84 481 873 2.88 16426.0

Career ERA 2.88 vs. league average 3.65 across their career seasons — 21.1% better than league average.

Season-by-Season Pitching

Pitching Career Arc

Click a stat to plot it across every season.

Year Team Lg W L G GS CG SHO SV IP H ER BB SO ERA Lg ERA Pitcher PIV
1967 BOS AL 1 2 27 0 0 0 5 43.3 33 11 14 42 2.28 3.30 (+31%) 759.8
1968 BOS AL 6 1 49 0 0 0 11 65.7 67 20 14 52 2.74 2.98 (+8%) 587.8
1969 BOS AL 8 3 71 0 0 0 17 102.7 91 29 48 93 2.54 3.61 (+30%) 1234.8
1970 BOS AL 1 7 63 0 0 0 20 67.3 62 29 34 51 3.88 3.89 (avg) 405.4
1971 BOS AL 6 4 50 0 0 0 16 52.3 41 16 23 37 2.75 3.47 (+21%) -168.7
1972 NYA AL 9 5 59 0 0 0 35 107.7 84 23 29 75 1.92 3.26 (+41%) 2993.1
1973 NYA AL 5 9 51 0 0 0 27 82.3 66 23 18 63 2.51 3.75 (+33%) 2979.2
1974 NYA AL 9 3 66 0 0 0 15 114.0 93 21 43 89 1.66 3.63 (+54%) 2241.3
1975 NYA AL 5 7 49 0 0 0 6 89.3 94 31 36 65 3.12 3.71 (+16%) 2631.9
1976 NYA AL 7 8 64 0 0 0 23 103.7 82 26 42 61 2.26 3.51 (+36%) 571.7
1977 NYA AL 13 5 72 0 0 0 26 137.0 131 33 33 68 2.17 4.00 (+46%) 2896.5
1978 NYA AL 9 3 59 0 0 0 9 111.7 116 43 33 33 3.47 3.69 (+6%) 1.8
1979 TEX AL 5 8 67 0 0 0 13 95.0 78 33 28 48 3.13 4.00 (+22%) 398.5
1980 TEX AL 3 2 49 0 0 0 8 80.7 97 42 28 43 4.69 3.84 (-22%) -677.9
1980 PHI NL 0 0 10 0 0 0 2 14.0 11 3 6 6 1.93 3.84 (+50%) 232.0
1981 PHI NL 9 6 48 0 0 0 2 75.0 85 37 33 29 4.44 3.58 (-24%) -556.4
1982 PHI NL 3 3 34 0 0 0 2 36.7 50 21 12 12 5.15 3.86 (-33%) -224.2
1982 CHA AL 0 0 11 0 0 0 1 12.0 11 4 7 6 3.00 3.86 (+22%) 119.2
Career · 18 seasons 99 76 899 0 0 0 238 1,390.1 1,292 445 481 873 2.88 — 16,426

Lg columns show the league average for that season, with the player's figure as a percentage above or below it. Career totals the seasons listed above.

Career Batting Statistics

G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB BB SO AVG OBP SLG OPS PIV
899 78 8 15 2 0 0 4 1 5 26 .192 .241 .218 .459 0

Career AVG .192 vs. league average .255 across their career seasons — 24.6% below league average.

Career OBP .241 vs. league average .321 across their career seasons — 25.0% below league average.

Career SLG .218 vs. league average .375 across their career seasons — 41.8% below league average.

Career OPS .459 vs. league average .696 across their career seasons — 34.1% below league average.

Season-by-Season Batting

Career Arc

Click a stat to plot it across every season.

Year Team Lg G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB BB SO AVG Lg AVG Lg OBP Lg SLG Lg OPS PIV
1967 BOS AL 27 8 1 2 1 0 0 0 0 0 4 .250 — — — — 0.0
1968 BOS AL 49 8 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 .125 — — — — 0.0
1969 BOS AL 71 17 0 2 0 0 0 1 0 1 6 .118 — — — — 0.0
1970 BOS AL 63 13 2 0 0 0 0 1 0 1 2 .000 — — — — 0.0
1971 BOS AL 50 3 1 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1.000 — — — — 0.0
1972 NYA AL 59 21 2 4 1 0 0 1 0 1 10 .190 — — — — 0.0
1973 NYA AL 51 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 — — — — 0.0
1974 NYA AL 66 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 — — — — 0.0
1975 NYA AL 49 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 — — — — 0.0
1976 NYA AL 64 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 — — — — 0.0
1977 NYA AL 72 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 — — — — 0.0
1978 NYA AL 59 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 — — — — 0.0
1979 TEX AL 67 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 — — — — 0.0
1980 TEX AL 49 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 — — — — 0.0
1980 PHI NL 10 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 — — — — 0.0
1981 PHI NL 48 5 2 2 0 0 0 0 1 1 1 .400 — — — — 0.0
1982 PHI NL 34 2 0 1 0 0 0 1 0 1 1 .500 — — — — 0.0
1982 CHA AL 11 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 — — — — 0.0
Career · 18 seasons 899 78 8 15 2 0 0 4 1 5 26 .192 — — — — 0

Lg columns show the league average for that season, with the player's figure as a percentage above or below it. Career totals the seasons listed above.

Postseason Statistics

Playoff Career Batting

G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO AVG
13 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 .000

Playoff Batting by Year

Year Round Team G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO AVG
1981 NEDIV PHI 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
1978 ALCS NYA 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
1977 ALCS NYA 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
1977 WS NYA 2 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 .000
1976 ALCS NYA 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
1976 WS NYA 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000

Playoff Career Pitching

W L G GS SV IP H ER BB SO ERA
3 0 13 0 1 21.3 17 4 3 9 1.69

Playoff Pitching by Year

Year Round Team W L G GS SV IP H ER BB SO ERA
1981 NEDIV PHI 0 0 3 0 0 2.3 4 0 2 1 0.00
1978 ALCS NYA 0 0 1 0 0 1.3 3 2 0 0 13.50
1977 ALCS NYA 2 0 4 0 0 9.3 7 1 0 3 0.96
1977 WS NYA 1 0 2 0 0 4.7 2 1 0 2 1.93
1976 ALCS NYA 0 0 1 0 1 1.0 0 0 1 0 0.00
1976 WS NYA 0 0 2 0 0 2.7 1 0 0 3 0.00

Game Log & Splits

View full game log (1798 games) →

Per-game data from Retrosheet (regular season, through 2025).

Batting — Home / Away

SplitGABRHHRRBIAVG
Home458382600.158
Away441406904.225

Pitching — Home / Away

SplitGIPHERBBSOERA
Home458722.06542212154262.75
Away441668.16382242664473.02

Last 10 Games — Pitching

DateTmOppDecIPHRERBBSOHR
1982-09-27 CHWSEA — 1.2200000
1982-09-24 CHWMIN — 1.1000120
1982-09-22 CHWSEA — 0.2000000
1982-09-20 CHWSEA — 1.0111100
1982-09-18 CHWOAK — 0.1111110
1982-09-10 CHWOAK — 1.0100100
1982-09-06 CHWLAA — 0.1000110
1982-08-29 CHWKCR — 1.0422100
1982-08-25 CHWCLE SV 3.1100010
1982-08-24 CHWCLE — 1.0000010

Fielding Statistics

Career Fielding Totals by Position

Position G GS PO A E DP
P 899 0 54 198 21 12

Season-by-Season Fielding

Year Team Pos G GS PO A E DP
1967 BOS P 27 0 2 5 0 0
1968 BOS P 49 0 5 6 3 0
1969 BOS P 71 0 3 19 3 3
1970 BOS P 63 0 1 7 0 0
1971 BOS P 50 0 2 10 0 1
1972 NYA P 59 0 4 11 0 0
1973 NYA P 51 0 2 13 2 0
1974 NYA P 66 0 3 11 1 2
1975 NYA P 49 0 2 16 4 1
1976 NYA P 64 0 3 11 2 1
1977 NYA P 72 0 2 22 2 0
1978 NYA P 59 0 9 18 1 3
1979 TEX P 67 0 2 11 2 0
1980 TEX P 49 0 4 10 0 0
1980 PHI P 10 0 0 0 0 0
1981 PHI P 48 0 6 17 0 0
1982 PHI P 34 0 3 10 1 1
1982 CHA P 11 0 1 1 0 0

Career Games by Position

Position Diamond

Circle size = games played at each position.

Position Games
Pitcher 899

Awards & Honors

Year Award Notes
1977 Cy Young Award
1976 Player of the Week Week of 1976-06-18
1972 TSN Fireman of the Year

Award Voting History

Year Award League Finish Points Won Points Max Votes First
1977 Cy Young Award AL 1st 56.0 140 9
1977 Most Valuable Player AL 6th 79.0 392 1
1976 Most Valuable Player AL 22th 8.0 336 0
1974 Most Valuable Player AL 25th 7.0 336 0
1972 Cy Young Award AL 7th 3.0 120 0
1972 Most Valuable Player AL 3rd 158.0 336 1

Most Similar Players

Career comps based on counting + rate stats and primary position. Score is relative — closest peer anchors at ~98%.

Career Spans

Sparky Lyle (highlighted) compared to peers across the same era.

  1. 98
    Kent Tekulve
    94-90, 2.85 ERA
  2. 86
    Mike Marshall
    97-112, 3.14 ERA
  3. 84
    Gene Garber
    96-113, 3.34 ERA
  4. 84
    Ron Perranoski
    79-74, 2.79 ERA
  5. 84
    Tug McGraw
    96-92, 3.14 ERA
  6. 80
    Clay Carroll
    96-73, 2.94 ERA

Compare Sparky Lyle

Side-by-side career stat comparisons against Lyle's closest peers by position and era.

vs Carl Yastrzemski
vs Rollie Fingers
vs Reggie Smith
vs Ron Reed
vs Lindy McDaniel
vs Gary Lavelle

Browse all MLB player comparisons →

Frequently Asked Questions about Sparky Lyle

What years did Sparky Lyle play?
Sparky Lyle played in Major League Baseball from 1967 to 1982.
Was Sparky Lyle a pitcher?
Yes. Sparky Lyle pitched in the major leagues, recording 99 wins and 873 strikeouts.
How many home runs did Sparky Lyle hit?
Sparky Lyle hit 0 career home runs with 15 hits.