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Dennis Eckersley

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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 and overwhelming success 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

Dennis 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. Dennis 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, including a no-hitter on May 30, 1977 against the California Angels.

Boston Red Sox

He was traded on March 30, 1978 to the Boston Red Sox. Pitching for a contender boosted Eckersley's stats over the next several seasons. He won a career-high 20 games in 1978 and 17 games in 1979, both years compiling a 2.99 ERA.

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 this span reflected this.

Chicago Cubs

Eckersley was traded on May 25, 1984 with Mike Brumley to the Chicago Cubs for Bill Buckner. Eckersley signed with Chicago in the off-season as well. He enjoyed some success with the new team, as the Cubs won the divisional title in 1984. Eckersley's performance deteoriated 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. He returned to the Cubs for spring training in 1987.

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 commonplace, in part because of Eckersley's overwhelming success.

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 low of 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 MVP in 1992, a season in which he posted 51 saves. No pitcher since has won the two honors in the same season. Only two relievers had previously accomplished the double feat: Rollie Fingers in 1981, and Willie Hernandez in 1984.

Jim Konstanty won the 1950 NL MVP, the first reliever to do so, but this was before the Cy Young Award was instituted. (Starting pitchers Don Newcombe (1956), Sandy Koufax (1963), Bob Gibson (1968), Vida Blue (1971) and Roger Clemens (1986) also won both awards in the same year. Several other pitchers won MVP awards before the first Cy Young award. Presumably they all would have won that year's nonexistent Cy Young balloting, with the exception of Dazzy Vance and Walter Johnson in 1924, both of whom won league MVPs, but one of whom would have lost a Cy Young vote to the other (until 1967, there was only one Cy Young Award given for both leagues).

Only one reliever since Eckersley has been awarded the Cy Young: Éric Gagné won NL 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.

Post-playing career

Eckersley enjoyed marginal success from then until his retirement in 1998. Nevertheless, his 390 career saves ranks fifth on the all-time list. He currently works as a studio analyst for the Boston Red Sox on NESN.

Honors

Legacy

Eckersley, it is generally agreed, almost singlehandedly ushered in the modern perception of the closer role in baseball. 
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 Gossage.  However, even in the late 1980s and early 1990s, a closer was considered a weaker and less valuable pitcher than a top starter.  Complete 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 innning; 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 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.



Accomplishments



Teams



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
3285.7
3076
1278
1382
347
738
2401
28
75




External links




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