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Dennis Eckersley

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"Eck" (note lowercase) redirects here. "ECK" is also a clipped form of a religion called Eckankar.
Member of the National Baseball Hall of Fame
Image:Baseball Hof.jpg
Dennis Lee Eckersley
"Eck"
Inducted as a member of the Oakland Athletics (43)
Year Inducted: 2004
First Year Elligible: 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

[edit] Early career

Eckersley was drafted by the Cleveland Indians out of Washington High School of Fremont in the third round of the 1972 amateur draft and made his Major League debut on April 12, 1975. He pitched well throughout the year, 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.

[edit] Boston Red Sox

Eckersley was traded on March 30, 1978 to the Boston Red Sox. 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 relationship[citation needed] with fellow Indian and (at the time) his best friend, outfielder Rick Manning.

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.

[edit] 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).

[edit] 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.

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 (and posting a microscopic 0.61 in 1990). 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 MVP 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.

Only one reliever since Eckersley has been awarded the Cy Young: Eric Gagné won National League honors in 2003.

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

[edit] 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.

[edit] Post-playing career

He currently works as a studio analyst for the Boston Red Sox on NESN.

[edit] Honors

  • 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.

[edit] 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 always 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.

[edit] Accomplishments

  • Elected to the Boston Red Sox Hall of Fame (2004)
  • Elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame (2004)
  • All-Star (1977, 1982, 1988, 1990, 1991, 1992)
  • American League Cy Young Award winner (1992)
  • American League MVP (1992)
  • American League Rolaids Relief Man of the Year award winner (1988, 1992)
  • American League Championship Series MVP (1988)
  • Finished 2nd in American League Cy Young voting (1988)
  • Finished 4th in American League Cy Young voting (1978)
  • Finished 5th in American League Cy Young voting (1990)
  • Finished 6th in American League Cy Young voting (1989)
  • Finished 7th in American League Cy Young voting (1979)
  • Finished 5th in American League MVP voting (1988, 1989)
  • Finished 6th in American League MVP voting (1990)
  • Pitched no-hitter (May 30, 1977)

[edit] Teams

[edit] 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

[edit] External links

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
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