Dennis Eckersley

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.

Early life
Eckersley grew up in the San Francisco Bay area, rooting for both the San Francisco Giants and the Oakland Athletics. He was a quarterback in high school until his senior year, when he gave up football to protect his throwing arm from injury.

Cleveland Indians
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 was disappointed that he was not drafted by the Giants. 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 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 the 200th no-hitter in history on May 30, 1977, against the California Angels.

Boston Red Sox
Eckersley was traded with Fred Kendall on March 30, 1978 to the Boston Red Sox for Rick Wise, Mike Paxton, Bo Díaz, 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. 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
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
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. 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, 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 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, 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) and is probably the only pitcher in history to have the same WHIP and ERA in a season; 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 and Willie Hernández in. In, 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 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
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, 1998. Eckersley's 390 career saves ranks fifth on the all-time list.

Post-playing career
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. 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.

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."

Personal life
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. His daughter is a student of the Dr. Franklin Perkins School.

Honors
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.