James Lawrence Lyttle Jr. (born May 20, 1946) is a former American professional baseball player from Logan, Indiana. He played as an outfielder for the

New York Yankees The New York Yankees are an American professional baseball team based in the New York City borough of the Bronx. The Yankees compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. They are one of ...

Chicago White Sox The Chicago White Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The White Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. The team is owned by Jerry Reinsdorf, and ...

Montreal Expos The Montreal Expos (french: link=no, Les Expos de Montréal) were a Canadian professional baseball team based in Montreal, Quebec. The Expos were the first Major League Baseball (MLB) franchise located outside the United States. They played in t ...

, and

Los Angeles Dodgers The Los Angeles Dodgers are an American professional baseball team based in Los Angeles. The Dodgers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. Established in 1883 in the city of Brooklyn ...

of the

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...

(MLB). He also played seven seasons of baseball in

Nippon Professional Baseball or NPB is the highest level of baseball in Japan. Locally, it is often called , meaning ''Professional Baseball''. Outside Japan, it is often just referred to as "Japanese baseball". The roots of the league can be traced back to the formation ...

(NPB) with the

Hiroshima Toyo Carp The is a professional baseball team based in Hiroshima, Hiroshima, Hiroshima, Japan. They compete in the Central League of Nippon Professional Baseball. The team is primarily owned by the Matsuda family, led by , who is a descendant of Mazda ...

and

Nankai Hawks The are a Japanese professional baseball team based in Fukuoka, Fukuoka Prefecture. They compete in Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) as a member of the Pacific League. The team was formerly known as the Nankai Hawks and was based in Osaka. ...

Early life

Jim Lyttle was a remarkable multi-sport athlete who achieved fame in Southeastern Indiana. A four-sport athlete at North Dearborn High School; he recorded a school-record 1,072 career points, leading the Vikings to a 57-13 record * the first three sectional championships in school history in his three seasons. He was named all-conference, all-sectional and all-regional each three times, while also achieving widespread acclaim in baseball. He chose a scholarship to Florida State University because it represented the chance to play basketball and baseball (he averaged 14.1 points as a freshman and 12.4 points as a sophomore – scoring in double figures in 20 of 26 games) while also earning 1st team All-American baseball honors and being selected by the New York Yankees’ with the 10th pick in the 1st round of the 1966 amateur draft.

Professional career

Major League Baseball career

Lyttle graduated from Florida State University, and was drafted in the first round of the 1966 amateur draft by the

. He made his major league debut with the Yankees in 1969, and recorded a .310 batting average in 87 games in 1970. He was traded to the

in 1971, and played in 42 games as a defensive backup with the White Sox before being sent off to various teams from 1973 to 1974. He spent three years with the

, and ended his major league career with the

in 1976.

Nippon Professional Baseball career

He signed with the

in the Japanese

Central League The or is one of the two professional baseball leagues that constitute Nippon Professional Baseball in Japan. The winner of the league championship plays against the winner of the Pacific League in the annual Japan Series. It currently consi ...

in 1977, and immediately became a vital part of the team in his first year, playing right field, and batting cleanup along with Koji Yamamoto and

Sachio Kinugasa Sachio Kinugasa ( 衣笠祥雄; January 18, 1947 – April 23, 2018) was a Japanese professional baseball third baseman for the Hiroshima Toyo Carp of the Nippon Professional Baseball league from 1965 to 1987. He was nicknamed ja, Tetsujin, it ...

. The Carp won consecutive league championships from 1979 to 1980, and Lyttle contributed immensely to the team's Japan Series victory over the

Kintetsu Buffaloes The were a Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) team based in Osaka, Japan, which was in the Pacific League. In 2005 the team was merged with the Orix BlueWave to become the team now known as the Orix Buffaloes. The team played in Fujiidera Stadiu ...

, where he was awarded the series MVP award. His strong arm won him the outfield Japanese golden glove award four years in a row from 1978, and he played his best season in 1981, leading the league in hits while slugging 33 home runs and 100 RBIs, with a .318 batting average. He also played in 472 consecutive games until 1981. He played six total seasons with the Carp; the longest of any non-Japanese player, and is regarded as the best non-Japanese player ever to play for the team. He spent the 1983 season with the

before retiring.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lyttle, Jim 1946 births Living people American expatriate baseball players in Canada American expatriate baseball players in Japan Baseball players from Ohio Chicago White Sox players Denver Bears players Florida Instructional League Yankees players Florida State Seminoles baseball players Fort Lauderdale Yankees players Greensboro Yankees players Hiroshima Toyo Carp players Los Angeles Dodgers players Major League Baseball outfielders Montreal Expos players Nankai Hawks players New York Yankees players Nippon Professional Baseball outfielders Omaha Royals players Sportspeople from Hamilton, Ohio Syracuse Chiefs players Tidewater Tides players Tucson Toros players