Dennis Eckersley

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Dennis Eckersley

Eckersley at the 2008 All-Star Game Red Carpet Parade

Pitcher

Born: October 3, 1954 (age 62)

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

MLB statistics

Winloss record 197171

Earned run average 3.50

Strikeouts 2,401

Saves 390

Teams

Cleveland Indians (19751977)

Boston Red Sox (19781984)

Chicago Cubs (19841986)

Oakland Athletics (19871995)

St. Louis Cardinals (19961997)

Boston Red Sox (1998)

Career highlights and awards

6 All-Star (1977, 1982, 1988, 19901992)

World Series champion (1989)

AL MVP (1992)

AL Cy Young Award (1992)

ALCS MVP (1988)

2 AL Rolaids Relief Man Award (1988, 1992)

2 MLB saves leader (1988, 1992)

Pitched a no-hitter on May 30, 1977

Oakland Athletics #43 retired

Boston Red Sox Hall of Fame

Major League Baseball All-Time Team

Member of the National

 Baseball Hall of Fame

Inducted 2004

Vote 83.2% (first ballot)

Dennis Lee Eckersley (born October 3, 1954), nicknamed "Eck", is an American former Major
League Baseball (MLB) pitcher. Between 1975 and 1998, he pitched 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
MLB history to have both a 20-win season and a 50-save season in a career.
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) to the injured Kirk
Gibson in Game 1 of the 1988 World Series. He works as a studio analyst for Red Sox games on
the NESN network.

Contents
[hide]

1Early life
2Baseball career
o 2.1Cleveland Indians
o 2.2Boston Red Sox
o 2.3Chicago Cubs
o 2.4Oakland Athletics
o 2.5Final playing years
3Pitching Style
4Post-playing career
5Personal
6See also
7References
8External links

Early life[edit]
Eckersley grew up in the San Francisco Bay area, rooting for both the San Francisco Giants and the
Oakland Athletics. Two of his boyhood heroes were the Giants' Willie Mays and Juan Marichal, and
he would go on to adopt Marichal's high leg kick pitching delivery.[1] He was a quarterback
at Washington High School in Fremont until his senior year, when he gave up football to protect his
throwing arm from injury.[2] He won 29 games as a pitcher at Washington, throwing a 90 mph fastball
and a screwball.[3]

Baseball career[edit]
Cleveland Indians[edit]
Eckersley was drafted out of high school by the Cleveland Indians in the third round of the 1972
amateur draft and was disappointed that he was not drafted by the Giants. He made his MLB 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 threw a no-hitter on May 30, 1977 against the California Angels. Two batters reached base in the
game, one on a walk in the first inning and the other on a third strike that was a wild pitch.[4] He
earned his first All-Star Game selection that year and finished the season with a 14-13 win-loss
record.[5]
Boston Red Sox[edit]
Eckersley was traded with Fred Kendall on March 30, 1978 to the Boston Red Sox for Rick
Wise, Mike Paxton, Bo Daz, and Ted Cox. 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.[5] 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 4348 record with Boston. He later developed a
great slider.
Chicago Cubs[edit]
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 117 record with two shutouts (the
last two of his career). Eckersley's performance deteriorated in 1986, when he posted a 611 record
with a 4.57 ERA. After the season, he checked himself into a rehabilitation clinic to
treat alcoholism.[6] 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."[7]
Oakland Athletics[edit]
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 ALCS (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.
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 first relief pitcher in baseball history to have more saves
than baserunners allowed (48 SV, 41 H, 4 BB, 0 HBP). In a statistical anomaly, he had exactly the
same WHIP and ERA: both were 0.613636364.
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 Hernndez in 1984. Since Eckersley,
one other reliever, ric Gagn, has won Cy Young honors (Gagn won the National League award
in 2003 with the Los Angeles Dodgers). In the 1992 American League Championship Series against
the Toronto Blue Jays, during Game 4 in what some considered the turning point in the series that
the Jays won, Eckersley gave up a game-tying 2-run home run from Roberto Alomar and his team
eventually lost 7-6 in 11 innings.
Eckersley's numbers slipped noticeably following 1992: although he still was among the league
leaders in saves, his ERA climbed sharply, and his number of saves never climbed above 36.
After the 1994 season, the Athletics elected not to exercise a $4,000,000 option on Eckersley,
making him a free agent. The team indicated that it would be interested in signing him at a lower
salary.[8] Oakland signed him to a one-year contract in early April 1995. His contract was the first
MLB deal after a three-month signing ban resulting from a labor dispute between owners and the
players union.[9]
Final playing years[edit]
When Tony La Russa 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.
Eckersley announced his retirement in December 1998. He commented on his career, saying, "I had
a good run. I had some magic that was with me for a long time, so I know that I was real lucky to not
have my arm fall off for one thing, and to make it this long physically is tough enough. But to me it's
like you're being rescued too when your career's over. It's like, 'Whew, the pressure's off."[10]
He retired with a career 197-171 win-loss record, a 3.50 ERA and 390 saves. Eckersley's career
saves total ranks sixth on the all-time list as of early 2014.[5] Eckersley had appeared in more games
(1,071) than any pitcher in MLB history, though he ranks fifth all-time as of early 2014.[5][11]

Pitching Style[edit]
Eckersley's unusual delivery utilized a high leg kick along with a long, pronounced sidearm throwing
motion. He had pinpoint accuracy, and fellow Hall of Famer Goose Gossage said of him, "He could
hit a gnat in the butt with a pitch if he wanted to."[12] He was aggressive and animated on the mound,
and he was known for his intimidating stare and pumping his fist after a strikeout. As a starter he
was able to throw four pitches for strikes, but as a reliever he narrowed his repertory to two pitches;
a sinker and a backdoorslider.[13]

Post-playing career[edit]

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.[14] He was named to the Major League Baseball All-Century Team.[15] 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.[16] On August 13, 2005, Eckersley's uniform number (43) was officially retired by the Oakland
Athletics.[17] The baseball field at his alma mater, Washington High School, has been named in his
honor.[18]
Eckersley 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.[19] 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.[20] Since then, Eckersley has been the
primary substitute for Remy when he is unavailable, most recently filling in for the remainder of the
2013 season when in early August, Remy's son, Jared, was indicted on murder charges, after which
Remy took the rest of the year off.

Personal[edit]
Eckersley was married to his first wife Denise until she left him for Rick Manning, his then-Cleveland
Indians teammate, in 1978; the affair precipitated Eckersley's trade to the Red Sox that year.[21] Two
years later, Eckersley married model Nancy O'Neil.[6] They divorced shortly after his retirement from
baseball.[22] His third wife, Jennifer, is a former lobbyist and manages Eckersley's business and
charitable affairs.[23]
In 1989, Eckersley's brother, Wally "Glenn" Eckersley, was convicted of attempted murder and
kidnapping, and sentenced to 40 years in prison. Eckersley testified at his brother's trial that
alcoholism ran in their family.[22]

See also[edit]

Biography portal

Baseball portal

Bay Area Sports Hall of Fame

List of Major League Baseball annual saves leaders
List of Major League Baseball all-time saves leaders
List of Major League Baseball career strikeout leaders
List of Major League Baseball no-hitters

References[edit]
1. Jump up^ "Eck's long haul to fame". San Francisco Chronicle. July 11, 2004. Retrieved October
4, 2016.[permanent dead link]
2. Jump up^ Jim Ison. Mormons in the Major Leagues. p.37
3. Jump up^ "This Series has loads of hometown heroes". Star-News. October 16, 1989.
Retrieved November 9, 2014.
 4. Jump up^ "Eckersley: No-hitter". St. Petersburg Times. May 31, 1977. Retrieved May 3, 2014.
5. ^ Jump up to:a b c d "Dennis Eckersley Statistics and History". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved May
3, 2014.
6. ^ Jump up to:a b Gammons, Peter (December 12, 1988). "One Eck of a Guy". Sports Illustrated.
Retrieved August 14, 2013.
7. Jump up^ Kekis, John (July 26, 2004). "Eckersley gives stirring speech as he and Molitor enter
Hall". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Retrieved October 4, 2016.[permanent dead link]
8. Jump up^ "Eckersley a free agent, but A's want him back". Los Angeles Times. October 21, 1994.
Retrieved May 3, 2014.
9. Jump up^ "Eckersley re-signs to break the ice". Los Angeles Times. April 4, 1995. Retrieved May
3, 2014.
10. Jump up^ "Pitcher Dennis Eckersley retires after a 24-year career". Rome News-Tribune. December
11, 1998. Retrieved November 9, 2014.
11. Jump up^ Verducci, Tom, Kennedy, Kostya (December 21, 1998). "Eckstraordinary". Sports
Illustrated. Retrieved May 3, 2014.
12. Jump up^ Smith, Claire (May 19, 1992). "ON BASEBALL; Eckersley First Rate In His Second
Career". The New York Times. Retrieved October 4, 2016.
13. Jump up^ Falkner, David (October 12, 1989). "On Field or Off, Eckersley Battles". The New York
Times. Retrieved October 4, 2016.
14. Jump up^ "Baseball's 100 Greatest Players by The Sporting News (1998)". Baseball Almanac.
Retrieved September 20, 2013.
15. Jump up^ "The All-Century Team". MLB.com. Retrieved September 20, 2013.
16. Jump up^ Blum, Ronald (January 7, 2004). "Molitor, Eckersley each elected to Hall of Fame on first
ballot". Peninsula Clarion. Retrieved September 20, 2013.
17. Jump up^ Bowles, C. J. "Forever No. 43". MLB.com. Retrieved September 20, 2013.
18. Jump up^ Leatherman, Gary (September 5, 2006). "Dennis Eckersley Field dedication set for Friday
at WHS". Tri-City Voice. Retrieved September 20, 2013.
19. Jump up^ Eckersley Extends Contract As An Analyst[dead link] Yahoo! Sports, February 23, 2009
20. Jump up^ Eckersley to fill in for Remy[dead link] NESN.com, May 4, 2009
21. Jump up^ The Curse of Rocky Colavito: A Loving Look at a Thirty-Year Slump, Terry Pluto, p.167
169, Gray & Company, ISBN 978-1-59851-035-5
22. ^ Jump up to:a b Doyle, Paul (July 25, 2004). "A closer who needed a save". Hartford Courant.
Retrieved May 3, 2014.
23. Jump up^ "Alumni Profiles: Jennifer Eckersley '93". Heidelberg University. Retrieved August
17, 2016.

External links[edit]
Career statistics and player information from Baseball-Reference, or Fangraphs, or The Baseball
Cube
Dennis Eckersley at the Baseball Hall of Fame

Preceded by No-hitter pitcher Succeeded by

Jim Colborn May 30, 1977 Bert Blyleven

[show]

Baseball Hall of Fame Class of 2004

 [show]

Members of the National Baseball Hall of Fame

[show]

St. Louis Cardinals in the National Baseball Hall of Fame

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Oakland Athletics 1989 World Series Champions

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Oakland Athletics

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Oakland Athletics retired numbers

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 Boston Red Sox Opening Day starting pitchers

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Cleveland Indians Opening Day starting pitchers

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Major League Baseball All-Time Team

[show]

300 save club

[show]

American League Cy Young Award

[show]

American League MVP Award

 [show]

American League Championship Series MVP Award

[show]

American League season saves leaders

[show]

American League Rolaids Relief Man Award

[show]

Major League Baseball on TBS

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