Graeme John Lloyd (born 9 April 1967) is an Australian-born former professional baseball

pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("pitches") the baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of retiring a batter, who attempts to either make contact with the pitched ball or dr ...

, who appeared with the

Milwaukee Brewers The Milwaukee Brewers are an American professional baseball team based in Milwaukee. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) National League Central, Central division. The Brewers are named for t ...

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 ...

Toronto Blue Jays The Toronto Blue Jays are a Canadian professional baseball team based in Toronto. The Blue Jays compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. Since 1989, the team has played its home games ...

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 ...

Florida Marlins The Miami Marlins are an American professional baseball team based in Miami. The Marlins compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) East division. The club's home ballpark is LoanDepot Park. The fran ...

New York Mets The New York Mets are an American professional baseball team based in the New York City borough of Queens. The Mets compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) East division. They are one of two major lea ...

, and

Kansas City Royals The Kansas City Royals are an American professional baseball team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Royals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. The team was founded as an expans ...

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 (A ...

(MLB).

Playing career

Lloyd played with the

, and

of the

American League The American League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the American League (AL), is one of two leagues that make up Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada. It developed from the Western League, a minor league b ...

and the

, and

of the

National League The National League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the National League (NL), is the older of two leagues constituting Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada, and the world's oldest extant professional team s ...

. He was the third native Australian so far to have pitched in

, .

Career overview

Lloyd was used exclusively as a relief pitcher during his ten years in the major leagues, ending his career with 30 wins against 36 losses, 17 saves, and 97 holds. At his peak, Lloyd threw a sinking

fastball The fastball is the most common type of pitch thrown by pitchers in baseball and softball. " Power pitchers," such as former American major leaguers Nolan Ryan and Roger Clemens, rely on speed to prevent the ball from being hit, and have thr ...

that reached per hour and a slider. Later in his career, he added a palmball to his repertoire. For much of his career, he was used as a left-handed specialist. This type of pitcher is used against an opposing team's star left-handed hitter(s) late in a game. Lloyd excelled in this role for the New York Yankees in 1998 when he posted a career-best 1.67 ERA. This effectiveness led to the Toronto Blue Jays demanding Lloyd be included in a package anchored by starting pitcher David Wells when the Yankees traded for Toronto starting pitcher

Roger Clemens William Roger Clemens (born August 4, 1962), nicknamed "Rocket", is an American former professional baseball pitcher who played 24 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB), primarily with the Boston Red Sox. Clemens was one of the most dominant pi ...

. Lloyd became the first Australian-born baseball player to win a

World Series The World Series is the annual championship series of Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada, contested since 1903 between the champion teams of the American League (AL) and the National League (NL). The winner of the Worl ...

in 1996 while playing for the

who defeated the

Atlanta Braves The Atlanta Braves are an American professional baseball team based in the Atlanta metropolitan area. The Braves compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) East division. The Braves were founded in ...

in a six-game series. Lloyd was awarded the win for Game 4 of the series, replacing

Mariano Rivera Mariano Rivera (born November 29, 1969) is a Panamanian-American former professional baseball pitcher who played 19 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the New York Yankees, from 1995 to 2013. Nicknamed "Mo" and "Sandman", he spent most ...

in the ninth inning and inducing the left-handed batsman

Fred McGriff Frederick Stanley McGriff (born October 31, 1963) is an American former first baseman in Major League Baseball (MLB) who played for six teams from 1986 through 2004. He was one of the most consistently productive powers hitters of the 1990s, po ...

to hit into an inning-ending double play. Lloyd became a two-time World Series champion for the Yankees in 1998, defeating the

San Diego Padres The San Diego Padres are an American professional baseball team based in San Diego. The Padres compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. Founded in 1969, the club has won two NL penn ...

. Lloyd is still the only Australian-born baseball player to have won a

. Lloyd missed the entire 2000 season while recovering from

arthroscopic surgery Arthroscopy (also called arthroscopic or keyhole surgery) is a minimally invasive surgical procedure on a joint in which an examination and sometimes treatment of damage is performed using an arthroscope, an endoscope that is inserted into the ...

. In 2001, he received the

Tony Conigliaro Award The Tony Conigliaro Award is a national recognition instituted in 1990 by the Boston Red Sox to honor the memory of Tony Conigliaro. It is given annually to a Major League Baseball (MLB) player who best "overcomes an obstacle and adversity throu ...

, a national recognition instituted in 1990 by the Boston Red Sox to honor the memory of the late Tony Conigliaro, given annually to a Major League Baseball (MLB) player who best "overcomes an obstacle and adversity through the attributes of spirit, determination, and courage that were trademarks of Conigliaro."

International career

Lloyd represented his native Australia at the

Olympic Games The modern Olympic Games or Olympics (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques) are the leading international sporting events featuring summer and winter sports competitions in which thousands of athletes from around the world participate in a multi ...

in Athens in 2004.

Personal

Lloyd's wife Cindy suffered from

Crohn's disease Crohn's disease is a type of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) that may affect any segment of the gastrointestinal tract. Symptoms often include abdominal pain, diarrhea (which may be bloody if inflammation is severe), fever, abdominal distensi ...

, to which she succumbed in 2000 at the age of 26. In 2000 and 2001, Graeme acted as the spokesman for the Graeme Lloyd and Jon Mechanic Field of Dreams, a charity which was dedicated in the name of Cindy Lloyd. He is currently the pitching coach for the Perth Heat of the

Australian Baseball League The Australian Baseball League (ABL) is a professional baseball league in Australia. The league is governed by the Australian Baseball Federation (ABF). It uses the same name as a now-defunct competition held during the 1990s, and though it ...

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lloyd, Graeme 1967 births Living people Australian expatriate baseball players in Canada Australian expatriate baseball players in the United States Baseball players at the 2004 Summer Olympics Dunedin Blue Jays players Florida Marlins players Kansas City Royals players Knoxville Blue Jays players Olympic baseball players of Australia Olympic medalists in baseball Olympic silver medalists for Australia Major League Baseball pitchers Major League Baseball players from Australia Medalists at the 2004 Summer Olympics Milwaukee Brewers players Montreal Expos players Myrtle Beach Blue Jays players New York Mets players New York Yankees players Sportspeople from Geelong Toronto Blue Jays players Sport Australia Hall of Fame inductees

Playing career

Career overview

International career

Personal

See also

References

External links