Mark Littell

Mark Littell
Pitcher
Born: January 17, 1953 (1953-01-17) (age 58) Cape Girardeau, Missouri
Batted: Left	Threw: Right
MLB debut
June 14, 1973 for the Kansas City Royals
Last MLB appearance
June 24, 1982 for the St. Louis Cardinals
Career statistics
Win-Loss	32-31
Earned run average	3.32
Strikeouts	466
Saves	56
Teams
Kansas City Royals (1973, 1975-1977) St. Louis Cardinals (1978-1982)
Career highlights and awards
2nd in the NL in games pitched in 1978 with 72

Mark Alan Littell (January 17, 1953 in Cape Girardeau, Missouri), is a professional baseball player who played pitcher in the Major Leagues from 1973-1982 for the Kansas City Royals and St. Louis Cardinals. Littell had a lifetime ERA of 3.32 and saved 56 games from 1976 to 1981. Bone spurs in his elbow cut his career short, and Littell retired midway through the 1982 season at the age of 29.

Primarily a relief pitcher, Littell served at the Royals' closer in 1976-1977, and is best remembered for giving up a walk-off home run to New York Yankees first baseman Chris Chambliss to end the 1976 American League Championship Series. It was only the second home run he allowed in more than 100 innings pitched that year.

Two years later, the Royals dealt Littell, along with catcher Buck Martinez, to the Cardinals in exchange for relief pitcher Al Hrabosky.

In 2006, Littell took a protective cup he invented, NuttyBuddy, to market. A promotional video clip found its way onto YouTube in which Littell demonstrated the device by allowing a 90 mph fastball to hit him in the groin while wearing a NuttyBuddy. Littell told the Kansas City Star that he worked with Royals pitchers in spring training and learned that half the pitchers didn't wear an athletic cup, which inspired him to invent the NuttyBuddy, which he bills as being stronger and better fitting than its competition. A demonstration of this was also broadcasted on Lopez Tonight (April 5, 2010).[1] The clip made its way to The Smoking Gun Presents: World's Dumbest..., as #7 on World's Smartest Inventions 2.

See also

• List of Major League Baseball all-time saves leaders

External links

• Career statistics and player information from Baseball-Reference
• Mark Littell's autograph

Persondata
Name	Littell, Mark
Alternative names
Short description	American baseball player
Date of birth	January 17, 1953
Place of birth	Cape Girardeau, Missouri
Date of death
Place of death