Card-by-Yankees Card: The 1977 Topps Set, Card #45 – Rawly Eastwick (Article 9)

I discussed Rawly Eastwick early on in this series here: Card-by-Yankees Card (Article 2)

In that post, I mentioned that Sparky Lyle wrote a bit about Rawly Eastwick in his story of the 1978 Yankees titled The Bronx Zoo.

I figured I’d share an excerpt about Eastwick from that classic Yankees book…

From The Bronx Zoo by Sparky Lyle and Peter Golenbock (1979) – (paperback)

Sunday, April 30

Rawly Eastwick is a great explorer in the bullpen. He should have been a treasure hunter. Or a garbage man. In the bullpen, he’ll hunt around and find little doodads, and no matter what it is, he’ll give it to me. For no reason. Last week he found a little piece of copper wire, and he sculpted into a tiny pair of glasses. He gave it to me, and I pinched it and put it on my nose..

I’m going to save all of the things Rawley gives me during the year, and at the end of the season I’m going to give them back to him , and he’s going to make a sculpture.

Each time I read that classic Yankees book, I enjoy the stories about Rawly Eastwick. I always wish he had stayed with the Yankees. He seemed like such a good guy. Sparky Lyle seemed to like him.

Eastwick was traded from the Yankees in June of that year. The Yanks sent him to the Philadelphia Phillies for Jay Johnstone and Bobby Brown. (The sculpture never got made.) He pitched with the Phillies through the 1979 season..

Eastwick next pitched for the Kansas City Royals in 1980 and then for the the Chicago Cubs in 1981 to close out his eight year Major League career.

In total, Rawly Eastwick pitched in 326 games pitching to a record of 28-27, 3.31. He had 68 saves.