Baseball Card Tourney: Lyle vs Mattingly

Well, that was a trouncing. Gorman Thomas and his flowing locks cared not for the young upstart mustache of Moose Haas, especially with the kid’s lack of a hat. Thomas moves on to the next round. Up is up and down is down in the Brewers world. Time to move along.

Now it’s time for our final #2/#7 pairing. We’ll reach across decades this time, and though the visual contrast is jarring, this might be the most mild-mannered matchup of the tournament. Which way do you hang? It’s time for another edition of Baseball Card Tourney!

#2 1981 Topps Sparky Lyle
Look, this is just a great tourney to be in. But let me tell you something, I came in there with guys on base. I pitched over 100 innings six times in my career. I was pretty much a regular player, so don’t tell me you played more. I won the Cy Young in 1977, man. 137 innings. Now, add this iconic mustache to that Cy, and all those games I saved for the Yankees, my record is clear. Not much I have to say really. And if you want zaniness, how about all those times I sat on people’s cakes? Plenty of teammates ate cakes in the shape of my posterior. Then Ron Swoboda defecated on a cake of mine… Or what about that time I put white hot in my own toothpaste ’cause Yogi was using it? Good times. Good times.

#7 1989 Topps Don Mattingly
Well I respect the heck out of Sparky, won’t say a bad thing about him. This card? It’s got ups and downs. Got my chin and an action shot, which isn’t bad. Don’t know who that is in the comic, though. I do like racquetball, but I’ve never taken an order. Nice that they got my fielding percentage on there! Don’t know about that graphic design though. I do wish it had my mullet or my goat in the picture, but we know who’s fault that is. At least they didn’t mention the chicken thing, man that got old. But, yeah, I heard about Sparky’s slider and that was a heck of a pitch. Ted Williams taught it to him? Man.