Dennis Eckersley

Played For
Cleveland Indians (1975-1977)
Boston Red Sox (1978-1984)
Chicago Cubs (1984-1986)
Oakland Athletics (1987-1995)
St. Louis Cardinals (1996-1997)
Boston Red Sox (1998)

All-Time Rankings
Dennis Eckersley ranks #2 among the Top 50 all-time at RP. Rankings ⇒

Best Season: 1992
Eck put up one of the best seasons ever by a closer. He won the AL MVP and Cy Young award for his effort, leading the A's to the playoffs. In 69 games he saved 51, won seven, posted a 1.91 ERA and fanned 93 in 80 innings. He walked just 11 batters, giving him 27 free passes in his last 287 regular season innings.

Factoids
On May 15, 1991, Dennis Eckersley nailed down a 6-3 win for the A's over the Orioles in Baltimore, pitching the last 1 1/3 innings for the save. In the crowd that day was President George Bush and Queen Elizabeth II of England.

Most Seasons, 30 or more Saves
Lee Smith...9 Dennis Eckersley...8 John Franco...8 John Wetteland...8 Trevor Hofmann...7 Tom Henke...6 Randy Myers...6 Rob Nen...6 Jeff Reardon...6 Todd Worrell...6 Rick Aguilera...5 Rod Beck...5 Roberto Hernandez...5 Doug Jones...5 Jeff Montgomery...5 Troy Percival...5 Dan Quisenberry...5 Mariano Rivera...5

Scouting Report
"He has good control, but when behind, the fastball and slider are up in the strike zone… is rated average at pitching when behind in the count…but it still takes a good hitter to beat him in tough spots… is a flyball pitcher" — from the 1984 Scouting Report

Where He Played
It's Eckersley's split-career that probably landed him in Cooperstown. From his rookie season in 1975, through his last year in Chicago (1986), Eckersley was a fine starting pitcher. In 1978 he was 20-8 and completed 16 games for the Red Sox, in his rookie season he won 13 games and had a nifty 2.60 ERA. In 1976 he struck out 200 batters. His career record as a starter was 149-130, with a 3.71 ERA and 1,609 K's. Then, in 1987, Tony LaRussa made him a closer, and he rocketed to stardom. As a relief pitcher, Eckersley saved 390 games, had a 2.84 ERA, and posted a 48-41 record. From the point that LaRussa made him a stopper, until the end of his career, at age 43, Eckersely walked just 113 batters in 779 2/3 innings (1.3 per nine IP).

Born
Dennis Lee Eckersley was born on October 3, 1954, in Oakland, CA.

Batted:  Right
Threw:  Right

Primary Position:  P

Primary Team:  OAK

Major League Debut
April 12, 1975 ... Eckersley made his debut in relief against the Brewers in Milwaukee. His first strikeout victim was Robin Yount.

Nine Other Players Who Debuted in 1975
Willie Randolph
Jack Clark
Chet Lemon
Craig Reynolds
Dennis Eckersley
Roy Smalley
Ron Guidry
Donnie Moore
Lyman Bostock

Nicknames
Eck

Uniform Numbers
#37 (1975-1977), #43 (1978-1998)

Similar Players
None. As a starter Rick Wise is a good comp. As a reliever no one compares well to Eckersley.

Related Players
Kirk Gibson (if you don't know why, then you shouldn't be on this website).

Hall of Fame Voting Year Election Votes Pct 2004 BBWAA 421 83.2%

No-Hitter
5/30/1977: For CLE (A) vs. CAL (A), 1-0 at CLE. 9 innings pitched.

Post-Season Appearances
1984 National League Championship Series
1988 World Series
1988 American League Championship Series
1989 American League Championship Series
1989 World Series
1990 American League Championship Series
1990 World Series
1992 American League Championship Series
1996 National League Divisional Series
1998 American League Divisional Series

Post-Season Notes
Eckersley started and lost game three of the '84 NLCS; in the 1988, 1989 and 1990 ALCS's Eck pitched in 11 of the A's 13 games, with a 0.60 ERA and nine saves; his 11 saves in LCS play are a ML record.

Awards and Honors
1988 AL ALCS MVP
1988 AL Rolaids Relief
1992 AL Cy Young
1992 AL MVP
1992 AL Rolaids Relief

Feats
On May 30, 1977, Eckersely hurled a no-hitter against the Angels, striking out 12 batters... On September 3, 1988, Eckersely set an AL record with his 37th save of the season... On September 26, 1998, Eckersely set a major league record by appearing in his 1,071st game, breaking Hoyt Wilhelm's mark. It was his final game.

Transactions
June 6, 1972: Drafted by the Cleveland Indians in the 3th round of the 1972 amateur draft; March 30, 1978: Traded by the Cleveland Indians with Fred Kendall to the Boston Red Sox for Rick Wise, Mike Paxton, Ted Cox, and Bo Diaz; May 25, 1984: Traded by the Boston Red Sox with Mike Brumley to the Chicago Cubs for Bill Buckner; November 8, 1984: Granted Free Agency; November 28, 1984: Signed as a Free Agent with the Chicago Cubs; April 3, 1987: Traded by the Chicago Cubs with Dan Rohn to the Oakland Athletics for Brian Guinn (minors), Dave Wilder (minors), and Mark Leonette (minors); October 25, 1994: Granted Free Agency; April 3, 1995: Signed as a Free Agent with the Oakland Athletics; February 13, 1996: Traded by the Oakland Athletics to the St. Louis Cardinals for Steve Montgomery; October 29, 1997: Granted Free Agency; December 9, 1997: Signed as a Free Agent with the Boston Red Sox; November 3, 1998: Granted Free Agency.

All-Star Selections
1977 AL
1982 AL
1988 AL
1990 AL
1991 AL
1992 AL

Replaced
When he was named AL Rookie Pitcher of the Year in 1975, Eckersely slipped into a Cleveland rotation that was in a constant state of flux. He really didn't "replace" anyone. He joined Fritz Peterson and Jim Perry as the only steady contributors on the starting staff.

Replaced By
After he left the Cardinals as a free agent in the 1997 off-season, St. Louis made Juan Acevedo their closer in '98.

Best Strength as a Player
Control

Largest Weakness as a Player
Early in his career, Eck was a cocky gunslinger, which got him into some trouble at times.

Learn More about Dennis Eckersley
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