Major League Baseball career Lyttle graduated from Florida State University, and was drafted in the first round of the
1966 amateur draft by the
New York Yankees. 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
Chicago White Sox 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 parts of four years with the
Montreal Expos, then ended his major league career with the
Los Angeles Dodgers in 1976.
Nippon Professional Baseball career He signed with the
Hiroshima Toyo Carp in the Japanese
Central League 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. 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, 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
Nankai Hawks before retiring. ==References==