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Dennis Eckersley
Eckersley at the 2008 All-Star Game Red Carpet Parade
Pitcher
Born: (1954-10-03) October 3, 1954 (age 57) Oakland, California
Batted: Right	Threw: Right
MLB debut
April 12, 1975 for the Cleveland Indians
Last MLB appearance
September 26, 1998 for the Boston Red Sox
Career statistics
Win–loss record	197–171
Earned run average	3.50
Strikeouts	2,401
Saves	390
Teams
Cleveland Indians (1975–1977) Boston Red Sox (1978–1984) Chicago Cubs (1984–1986) Oakland Athletics (1987–1995) St. Louis Cardinals (1996–1997) Boston Red Sox (1998)
Career highlights and awards
6× All-Star (1977, 1982, 1988, 1990, 1991, 1992) World Series champion (1989) AL MVP (1992) AL Cy Young Award (1992) AL TSN Pitcher of the Year (1992) 2× AL Rolaids Relief Man of the Year (1988, 1992) ALCS MVP (1988) Boston Red Sox Hall of Fame Oakland Athletics #43 retired Major League Baseball All-Time Team
Member of the National
Baseball Hall of Fame
Induction	2004
Vote	83.2% (first ballot)

Dennis Lee Eckersley (born October 3, 1954), nicknamed "Eck", is an American former Major League Baseball pitcher. Eckersley had success as a starter, but gained his greatest fame as a closer, becoming the first of only two pitchers in Major League history to have both a 20-win season and a 50-save season in a career (the other being John Smoltz).

He was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 2004, his first year of eligibility. He is also noted as the pitcher who gave up a dramatic, walk-off home run (a phrase Eckersley coined after this home run) to the injured Kirk Gibson in Game 1 of the 1988 World Series.

Baseball career[link]

Cleveland Indians[link]

Eckersley was drafted by the Cleveland Indians out of Washington High School of Fremont, California, in the third round of the 1972 amateur draft, and made his Major League debut on April 12, 1975. He was the American League Rookie Pitcher of the Year in 1975, compiling a 13–7 record and 2.60 ERA. His unstyled, long hair, moustache, and live fastball made him an instant and identifiable fan favorite. Eckersley pitched reliably over three seasons with the Indians; he even threw the 200th no-hitter in history on May 30, 1977, against the California Angels.

Boston Red Sox[link]

Eckersley was traded with Fred Kendall on March 30, 1978 to the Boston Red Sox for Rick Wise, Mike Paxton, Bo Diaz, and Ted Cox. In the book The Curse of Rocky Colavito, author Terry Pluto noted that the trade was necessitated by an awkward situation, namely that Eckersley's wife had left him for teammate Rick Manning.^[1] Over the next two seasons, Eckersley won a career-high 20 games in 1978 and 17 games in 1979, with a 2.99 ERA in each year. However, during the remainder of his tenure with Boston, from 1980 to 1984, Eckersley pitched poorly. His fastball had lost some steam, as demonstrated by his 43–48 record with Boston. He later developed a great slider.

Chicago Cubs[link]

Eckersley was traded on May 25, 1984 with Mike Brumley to the Chicago Cubs for Bill Buckner, one of several mid-season deals that helped the Cubs to their first postseason appearance since 1945. Eckersley performed poorly in his sole start for the Cubs in their NL Championship Series with the San Diego Padres.

Eckersley remained with the Cubs in 1985, when he posted an 11–7 record with two shutouts (the last two of his career). Eckersley's performance deteriorated in 1986, when he posted a 6–11 record with a 4.57 ERA. After the season, he checked himself into a rehabilitation clinic to treat alcoholism. (Eckersley noted in Pluto's book that he realized the problem he had after family members videotaped him while drunk and played the tape back for him the next day.)

Oakland Athletics[link]

Eckersley was traded again on April 3, 1987 to the Oakland Athletics, where manager Tony La Russa intended to use him as a set-up pitcher or long reliever. Indeed, Eckersley started two games with the A's before an injury to then-closer Jay Howell opened the door for Eckersley to move into the closer's role. He saved 16 games in 1987 and then established himself as a dominant closer in 1988 by recording a league-leading 45 saves. He recorded saves in all four games as the A's swept the Red Sox in the 1988 AL Championship Series, but he found himself on the wrong end of Kirk Gibson's 1988 World Series home run as the A's lost to the Dodgers in 5 games. In the 1989 World Series he secured the victory in Game Two, and then earned the save in the final game of the Series, as the A's swept the San Francisco Giants in four games.

Eckersley was the most dominant closer in the game from 1988 to 1992, finishing first in the A.L. in saves twice, second two other times, and third once. He saved 220 games during the five years and never posted an ERA higher than 2.96. He gave up five earned runs in the entire 1990 season, resulting in a microscopic 0.61 ERA. Eckersley's control, which had always been above average even when he was not otherwise pitching well, became his trademark; he walked only three batters in 57.2 innings in 1989, four batters in 73.1 innings in 1990, and nine batters in 76 innings in 1991. In his 1990 season, Eckersley became the only relief pitcher in baseball history to have more saves than baserunners allowed (48 SV, 41 H, 4 BB, 0 HBP).

He was the American League's Cy Young Award winner and the American League's Most Valuable Player in 1992, a season in which he posted 51 saves. Only two relievers had previously accomplished the double feat: Rollie Fingers in 1981 and Willie Hernandez in 1984. In 1987, the Phillies' Steve Bedrosian was named the National League Cy Young Award winner. Since Eckersley, one other reliever, Éric Gagné, has won Cy Young honors (Gagné won the National League award in 2003 with the Los Angeles Dodgers). His numbers slipped noticeably following 1992: although Eckersley still was among the league leaders in saves, his ERA climbed sharply, and his number of saves never climbed above 36.

In 2002, then-Atlanta Braves pitcher John Smoltz matched Eckersley's feat of having a 20-win season and a 50-save season.

Final playing years[link]

When Tony LaRussa left the A's after the 1995 season, he became the St. Louis Cardinals' new manager and arranged to bring Eckersley along with him. Eckersley continued in his role as closer and remained one of the league's best, but following the 1997 season, he signed on with the Red Sox for one final season, 1998. Eckersley's 390 career saves ranks fifth on the all-time list.

Post-playing career[link]

He currently works as a studio analyst for the Boston Red Sox on NESN, where he primarily provides post-game coverage, analyzing the strengths and weaknesses of the team's play. He also has a multi-year deal with TBS to serve as an analyst for their post-season coverage.^[2] In the Spring of 2009, regular NESN commentator Jerry Remy took time off for health reasons. Eckersley filled in for Remy, providing color commentary alongside Don Orsillo.^[3]

Eckersley is known for his eccentric vocabulary: most notably, he often refers to a pitcher's ability to throw in the mid to upper 90's as "cheese." He also refers to the act of hitting a home run as "going bridge," and to hair, whether on the head or the face, as "moss."

Eckersley spends time with his three children Mandee, Jake, and Allie. During the summer, he lives in the Turner Hill golf community in Ipswich, Massachusetts.

Honors[link]

Dennis Eckersley's number 43 was retired by the Oakland Athletics in 2005.

• In 1999, he ranked Number 98 on The Sporting News' list of the 100 Greatest Baseball Players and was nominated as a finalist for the

Major League Baseball "All-Century Team."

• On January 6, 2004, he was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in his first year of eligibility, with 83.2% of the votes.
• On August 13, 2005, Eckersley's uniform number (43) was officially retired by the Oakland Athletics.
• The baseball field at his alma mater, Washington High School, has been named in his honor.

Career statistics[link]

See also[link]

• Bay Area Sports Hall of Fame
• List of Major League Baseball leaders in career wins
• List of Major League Baseball saves champions
• List of Major League Baseball all-time saves leaders
• Top 100 strikeout pitchers of all time
• List of Major League Baseball no-hitters

References[link]

External links[link]

• Career statistics and player information from Baseball-Reference, or Fangraphs, or The Baseball Cube
• Dennis Eckersley interviewed at OceanViewPress.com
• Dennis Eckersley at the Baseball Hall of Fame
• - Article by Hal Bodley about Eckersley's alcoholism