Dennis Eckersley

Dennis Lee Eckersley (born October 3, 1954), nicknamed "Eck", is an American former professional baseball pitcher and color commentator.

The Cleveland Indians selected Eckersley in the third round of the 1972 MLB draft; he was disappointed that he was not drafted by the Giants.

Between 1975 and 1998, he pitched in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Cleveland Indians, Boston Red Sox, Chicago Cubs, Oakland Athletics, and St. Louis Cardinals.

Eckersley had success as a starter, but gained his greatest fame as a closer, becoming the first of two pitchers in major league history to have both a 20-win season and a 50-save season in a career.

He 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 win–loss record and 2.60 earned run average (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.

On May 30, 1977, Eckersley threw a no-hitter against the California Angels at Cleveland Stadium.

He struck out 12 batters and only allowed two to reach base, Tony Solaita on a walk in the first inning and Bobby Bonds on a third strike that was a wild pitch.

He earned his first All-Star Game selection that year and finished the season with a 14–13 win–loss record.

The Indians traded Eckersley and Fred Kendall to the Boston Red Sox for Rick Wise, Mike Paxton, Bo Díaz, and Ted Cox on March 30, 1978.

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 very effective slider.

On May 25, 1984, the Red Sox traded Eckersley 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.

He won 10 games and lost 8, with a 3.03 ERA.

Eckersley remained with the Cubs in 1985, when he posted an 11–7 won-lost 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.

During his Hall of Fame speech he recalled that time in his life, saying "I was spiraling out of control personally. I knew I had come to a crossroads in my life. With the grace of God, I got sober and I saved my life."

Eckersley was traded again on April 3,, 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.

Eckersley recorded 4 saves against the Red Sox in the regular season, and he dominated once more by recording saves in all four games as the A's swept the Red Sox in the 1988 ALCS.

Eckersley was the most dominant closer in the game from 1988 to, 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 season, resulting in a 0.61 ERA.

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 elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 2004, his first year of eligibility.

He previously worked with NESN as a part-time color commentator for Red Sox broadcasts, and has also worked for Turner Sports as a game analyst for their Sunday MLB Games and MLB postseason coverage on TBS.

He retired from NESN in 2022.

Eckersley grew up in Fremont, California, rooting for both the San Francisco Giants and the Oakland Athletics of Major League Baseball (MLB).

Two of his boyhood heroes were the Giants' Willie Mays and Juan Marichal, and he later adopted Marichal's high leg kick pitching delivery.

Eckersley attended Washington High School in Fremont, California.

He played for the football team as a quarterback until his senior year, when he gave up football to protect his throwing arm from injury.

He won 29 games as a pitcher at Washington, throwing a 90 mph fastball and a screwball.

(which was matched by Greg Holland in the 2014 ALCS), but he found himself on the wrong end of Kirk Gibson's 1988 World Series home run (Eckersley himself first coined the phrase "walk-off home run" to describe that moment) as the A's lost to the Dodgers in 5 games.