By JT
"Sparky" kind of sounds like a Fireman, someone like a relief pitched called in to put out the fire. "Tug" like a tugboat, who sometimes put out fires in harbors.
Both were my two favorite relief pitchers of the 1970s maybe because of the names, maybe because of the 1974 baseball cards which were awesome. Maybe because I liked the Mets and Yankees.
Sparky Lyle won The Sporting News "Fireman of the Year Award, going to the top relief pitcher in each league and he won the 1977 Cy Young, a rare honor for a reliever. He has two World Series rings (1977 and 1978) twice led the AL in saves (1972 and 1976) but he came in an era where they didn't send players out there just to rack up saves. So, he didn't get Hall of Fame support. He was not a dominant-type strikeout pitcher, he just got guys out.
Tug McGraw was the same in many ways. A left, who struck out a few more than Lyle, but was not a power pitcher. He never got any of the Rolaids Relief Pitcher of the Year of TSN fireman of the Year Awards, though he was qualified in 1969, 1972, and 1980.
Like Lyle, he has two World Series rings (1969 and 1980) but the best he did in saves in the NL was in 1972 and 1973 when he was second both seasons.
In Jay Jaffe's JAWS ranking on Baseball-Reference.com Lyle ranks 30th all-time and McGraw 34th among relief pitchers (HOFer Rollie Fingers is 27th). So they both had fine careers. If there were a Hall of the Very Good for baseball, these two would be in it, in my opinion.
Lyle and McGraw as teammates with the Phils.
Lyle was on the 1980 Championship team but was not on the post-season roster.
Career stats—
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