Mark Alan Littell (January 17, 1953 – September 5, 2022), nicknamed "Country" and "Ramrod", was an American relief pitcher in Major League Baseball in 1973 and from 1975 to 1982 for the Kansas City Royals and St. Louis Cardinals. He was a member of the Royals' division champions in 1976 and 1977, leading the 1976 team with 16 saves. Littell had a career earned run average (ERA) of 3.32 and saved 56 games from 1976 to 1981. Bone spurs in his elbow cut his career short, forcing him to retire midway through the 1982 season at the age of 29, before the Cardinals went on to win the World Series. After his playing career, he coached in the minor leagues and in college baseball.
Littell was raised on an 800-acre (320 ha) farm that grew cotton and soybean near Wardell, Missouri. He attended Gideon High School in Gideon, Missouri, and played for the school's baseball team as a pitcher. He threw three no-hitters in his senior year. He had a 7–3 win-loss record, a 0.97 ERA, and 127 strikeouts in .mw-parser-output .frac{white-space:nowrap}.mw-parser-output .frac .num,.mw-parser-output .frac .den{font-size:80%;line-height:0;vertical-align:super}.mw-parser-output .frac .den{vertical-align:sub}.mw-parser-output .sr-only{border:0;clip:rect(0,0,0,0);height:1px;margin:-1px;overflow:hidden;padding:0;position:absolute;width:1px}69+2⁄3 innings pitched in his senior year. He graduated with a 0.98 ERA in his high school career. After he graduated, Littell played American Legion Baseball, representing Blytheville, Arkansas, and recorded 24 strikeouts in his first American Legion game.
The Kansas City Royals selected Littell in the 12th round of the 1971 MLB draft. Though he had committed to play college baseball for the University of Missouri, he signed with the Royals instead. Littell pitched for the Billings Mustangs of the Rookie-level Pioneer League in 1971 after he signed and for the Waterloo Royals of the Class A Midwest League in 1972. He opened the 1973 season with the Omaha Royals of the American Association, and made his major league debut as a starting pitcher on June 14, 1973. Spending much of the season with Omaha, he was named the league's pitcher of the year in 1973.

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