Career
A former infielder in the minor leagues, Sparks batted left-handed, threw right-handed, stood 6 feet (18 m) tall and weighed 195 pounds (88 kg) during his active career. Sparks served one-year coaching terms in Major League Baseball with the White Sox (1979), Cincinnati Reds (1984), Expos (1989) and New York Yankees (1990), and was an advance scout for the Saint Louis Cardinals for eight seasons (1996–2003). He then served in the same role for the Oakland Athletics.