Dennis Eckersley
From Sports Library
| Dennis Eckersley | ||
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| Pitcher | ||
| Born: October 3 1954 (age 54) | ||
| Batted: Right | Threw: Right | |
| MLB debut | ||
| April 12, 1975 for the Cleveland Indians | ||
| Final game | ||
| September 26, 1998 for the Boston Red Sox | ||
| Career statistics | ||
| Win-Loss | 197-171 | |
| Saves | 390 | |
| ERA | 3.50 | |
| Teams | ||
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| Career highlights and awards | ||
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| Dennis Lee Eckersley | |
| "Eck" | |
| Inducted as a member of the Oakland Athletics (43) | |
| Year Inducted: 2004 | |
| First Year Eligible: 2003 | |
Dennis Lee Eckersley (born October 3, 1954 in Oakland, California), nicknamed "Eck," was a Major League Baseball player elected to Baseball Hall of Fame in 2004 (his first year of eligibility). He enjoyed success as a starter, but he gained his 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. He is also noted as the pitcher who gave up Kirk Gibson's game-winning home run in Game 1 of the 1988 World Series.
Contents |
Early career
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| Dennis Eckersley is a member of the Baseball Hall of Fame |
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 and live fastball made him an instant and identifiable fan favorite. Eckersley pitched reliably over three seasons with the Indians; he even threw a no-hitter on May 30, 1977 against the California Angels.
Boston Red Sox
Eckersley was traded 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. Eckersley's then-wife, Denise, had begun a seemingly non-platonic relationshipTemplate:Fact with fellow Indian and (at the time) his best friend, outfielder Rick Manning (she and Manning eventually married).
Pitching for contending Red Sox team boosted Eckersley's statistics over the next several seasons. He won a career-high 20 games in 1978 and 17 games in 1979, with a 2.99 ERA in each year.
During the remainder of his tenure with Boston, from 1980 to 1984, Eckersley pitched poorly. His fastball wasn't as intimidating as it once had been, and his 43-48 record over the four-year span reflected this. He later developed a great curve ball.
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. (It also later on proved to be a fateful transaction in Boston Red Sox history; see 1986 World Series.
Eckersley signed with Chicago in the off-season as well. Eckersley's performance deteriorated after re-signing with the Cubs in 1985. In 1986, Eckersley 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 it back for him the next day).
Oakland Athletics
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 man or long reliever. An injury to then-closer Jay Howell, however, opened the door for Eckersley to move into the closer's role, a role he wouldn't relinquish during his tenure with the Athletics. LaRussa and Eckersley revolutionized the strategy of relief pitching. Eckersley was the first prominent reliever to be used almost exclusively in the "protecting the ninth inning lead" role which is now so commonplace. Particularly, Eckersley's role as closer would factor prominently in his only World Series championship. In the 1989 World Series, he secured the victory in Game Two, and earned the save in the final game of the Series, his Oakland A's sweeping the San Francisco Giants in four games.
Eckersley was one of the most dominant closers in the game from 1987 to 1992, saving 236 games and never posting an ERA higher than 3.03; his ERA in 1990 was a microscopic 0.61. 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 57.7 innings in 1989 and only four batters in 73.3 innings in 1990. In that 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. Since Eckersley, only one other reliever, Éric Gagné, has won Cy Young honors (Gagné won the National League award in 2003 with the Los Angeles Dodgers).
In 2002, Atlanta's John Smoltz matched Eckersley's feat of having had a 20-win season and a 50-save season.
Final playing years
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. By this time Eckersley was past his prime as a reliever, but he stayed with the team for two seasons.
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. Primarily, Eckersley provides post game coverage, working to analyze the strengths and weaknesses of the team's play. Unlike many other commentators, he is willing to point out sloppy play by the team that employs him.
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."
- As mentioned in the early part of this article, 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.
Legacy
The role of the closer had been around since the late 1950s and early 1960s (Pittsburgh Pirates manager Danny Murtaugh is credited with inventing the role by using Elroy Face late in close games), and there had always been feared relievers and closers with Hall of Fame-caliber careers, such as Rollie Fingers, Bruce Sutter, and Rich "Goose" Gossage. However, even in the late 1980s and early 1990s, a closer was considered a weaker and less valuable pitcher than a top starter. Pitchers started games and if they were real men, they finished them (or so the mentality went). Relievers were either "firemen" (pitchers who only came into pressure-packed situations, with runners on and few out late in a game, and thus "put out the fire"), or pitchers not good enough to start; the vast majority of relievers were considered to be the latter.
The A's used Eckersley almost exclusively for the ninth inning and inserted him regardless of the pressure or game situation. Instead of being a fireman or a mop-up man, Eckersley became a one-inning pitcher. Starters were no longer expected to finish games; there was another pitcher who was coming into the game in the ninth inning, no matter what. Although the idea of a dedicated closer was hardly new (Lee Smith was already closing for the Cubs by the time Eck was converted to the closer role), it was rejected outright by old-school purists; it took Tony La Russa and Eckersley to popularize it.
Eckersley's incredible short-term dominance of the position was perhaps the most influential aspect of this popularization. He was seen to shut down a game after the eighth inning; he was fresh, cocky, and usually hit his spots. His pointed finger at a struck-out batter and his glare became well-known after he and Boston's Dwight Evans famously battled during the 1988 and 1990 playoffs.
After Eckersley, every team wanted a pitcher who would end a game after eight innings, save their starters from overextending themselves, and give their fans something exciting to look to in a late game. Although the value of a closer is still debatable, Eckersley's influence is indisputable; by 2006, the notion of a team without a dedicated closer seemed as ridiculous as a pre-Eckersley team with one.
Although the idea of a specialty, one-inning game closer was the suggestion of his Oakland A's manager, Tony La Russa, it was Eckersley who put the 'cool' in the role of the closer.
Career statistics
| W | L | PCT | ERA | G | GS | CG | SHO | SV | IP | H | ER | R | HR | BB | SO | WP | HBP |
| 197 | 171 | .535 | 3.50 | 1071 | 361 | 100 | 20 | 390 | 3285.2 | 3076 | 1278 | 1382 | 347 | 738 | 2401 | 28 | 75 |
See also
External links
- Baseball-Reference.com - career statistics and analysis
- BaseballLibrary - biography and career highlights
- - Article by Hal Bodley about Eckersley's alcoholism
- Eckersley on Wikipedia
| Preceded by Gary Gaetti |
American League Championship Series MVP 1988 |
Succeeded by Rickey Henderson |
| Preceded by Cal Ripken, Jr. |
American League Most Valuable Player 1992 |
Succeeded by Frank Thomas |
| Preceded by Roger Clemens |
American League Cy Young Award 1992 |
Succeeded by Jack McDowell |
| Major League Baseball | MLB All-Time Team |
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Lou Gehrig | Rogers Hornsby | Honus Wagner | Mike Schmidt (Infielders) |
| 1984 National League East Champion Chicago Cubs Starting Lineup: 1. Bobby Dernier CF | 2. Ryne Sandberg 2B | 3. Gary Matthews LF | 4. Leon Durham 1B | 5. Keith Moreland RF | 6. Ron Cey 3B | 7. Jody Davis C | 8. Larry Bowa SS Starting Pitchers: Rick Sutcliffe | Steve Trout | Dennis Eckersley | Scott Sanderson | Dick Ruthven | Rick Reuschel |
Categories: Baseball Hall of Fame | Major league pitchers | Boston Red Sox players | Chicago Cubs players | Cleveland Indians players | Oakland Athletics players | St. Louis Cardinals players | American League All-Stars | Major league players from California | Major League Baseball pitchers who have pitched a no-hitter | Major League Baseball announcers | People from Oakland, California | 1954 births | Living people
