At his peak, Lloyd threw a sinking fastball that reached 90 miles (140 km) per hour and a slider. Later in his career, he added a palmball to his repertoire.[1] For much of his career, he was used as a left-handed specialist.[1] This type of pitcher is used against an opposing team's star left-handed hitter(s) late in a game.
In August 1996, the Brewers traded Lloyd and Pat Listach to the New York Yankees for Gerald Williams and Bob Wickman.[2] Lloyd became the first Australian-born baseball player to win a World Series in 1996. Lloyd was awarded the win for Game 4 of the series, replacing Mariano Rivera in the ninth inning and inducing the left-handed batsman Fred McGriff to hit into an inning-ending double play.[3] After the Yankees took the lead in the tenth, Lloyd returned to the mound and struck out Ryan Klesko before being replaced by closer John Wetteland.
Lloyd became a two-time World Series champion for the Yankees in 1998, defeating the San Diego Padres. Lloyd is still the only Australian-born baseball player to have won a World Series.[4]
The Toronto Blue Jays demanded Lloyd be included in a package anchored by starting pitcher David Wells when the Yankees traded for Toronto starting pitcher Roger Clemens in February 1999.[5]
Lloyd missed the entire 2000 season while recovering from arthroscopic surgery. In 2001, he received the Tony Conigliaro Award, a national recognition instituted in 1990 by the Boston Red Sox to honour 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."[6]
Lloyd's wife Cindy suffered from Crohn's disease. She died in 2000 at the age of 26.[8] 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.
