Page 8 THE SAUGUS ADVOCATE – FRIDAY, MAY 28, 2021 Law Offices of Terrence W. Kennedy 512 Broadway, Everett • Criminal Defense • Personal Injury • Medical Malpractice Tel: (617) 387-9809 Cell: (617) 308-8178 twkennedylaw@gmail.com I remember Eck D By The Old Sachem ennis Eckersley was a right-handed pitcher for the Red Sox (twice), Cleveland Indians, Chicago Cubs, Oakland Athletics and St. Louis Cardinals. Eckersley was born on October 3, 1954, in Oakland, California; he grew up in Fremont, California, and his Major League debut was with Cleveland on April 12, 1975. He was a fan of both the San Francisco Giants and the Oakland Athletics as a youngster; his Giants heroes were Willie Mays and Juan Marichal. Dennis adopted the high leg kick of Marichal as his delivery style. At Washington High School in Fremont, he was a quarterback until his senior year, when he decided that there was too much possibility of injury, and he was very good at baseball. Pitching for Washington High, he won 29 games; throwing speed was 90 miles per hour, and he had both a fastball and a screwball. He figured he was slated for professional baseball. He was selected in the third round of the 1972 Major League Baseball draft by the Cleveland Indians, and he was very disappointed that the Giants bypassed him twice. He had a remarkable first year with a 13 and 7 win-loss record, and a 2.60 Earned Run Average. He became the American League Rookie Pitcher of the year in 1975. With his long hair he was easy to spot, and his live fastball made him a hit with the fans. He had three good years with Cleveland, including a no-hitter against the California Angels in his home park, Cleveland Stadium, on May 30, 1977. While striking out 12 batters, he did allow two batters to reach first base: Tony Salaita on a walk, and Bobby Bonds on a wild-pitch, third strike. He became a league All-Star and finished the season with a 14 and 13 win-loss record. Over his three years in Cleveland, his record was 40 wins and 32 losses, a ratio of .556 and ERA of 2.74. The Red Sox traded Rick Wise, Mike Paxton, Bo Diaz and Ted Cox to obtain Eckersley and Fred Kendall. Over the next eight seasons with the Sox, he had a record of 88 wins and 71 losses with a percentage of .553 and an ERA of 3.92. His best Boston year was 1975, when he won 20 games while losing only eight. He pitched poorly after his first season, but he developed a great slider to add to his arsenal. Eckersley was traded to the Chicago Cubs on May 25, 1984, along with Mike Brumley for Bill Buckner. Buckner was later to achieve a remarkable play in a World Series game for the Sox, but that story is for another time. Eck was helpful to the Cubs as they took their first post-season since 1945, but he was not very sharp in his only post-season game that year, giving up five runs in 5.1 innings to the San Diego Padres in the National League championship series. He fell on bad times in 1986 with a six and 11 record and a 4.57 ERA. After finishing the season, he checked into an alcoholic rehabilitation clinic. He became aware of his problem after family members videotaped him while he was drunk and showed him the action the next day. He later said that “I was spiraling out of control personally. I knew I had come to a crossroads in my life. With the grace of God, I got sober and saved my life.” The Oakland Athletics obtained Eckersley on April 3, 1987; manager Tony La Russa thought that Dennis would make a fine long receiver or even a setup pitcher. Eckersley started two games for Oakland before an injury to reliever Jay Howell, then Eck moved into the position. In 1987 he saved 16 games that year and a permanent role was found. The next season he saved 45 games to lead the league. During the regular season, Eckersley saved four games against the Red Sox, and then in the playoffs he saved all four games against the Sox as Oakland swept the series in four games in the American League Championship Series. Eck delivered the home run by Kirk Gibson in the 1988 World Series as the A’s lost to the Dodgers in five games. The next season playoffs were a different story as the A’s swept the San Francisco Giants in four games, Eck the winning pitcher in game two, and he saved the win in game five as the A’s took the World Series. From 1988 through 1992, Eckersley was the dominant reliever. He finished first in saves twice; second twice, and third once. During the five seasons, he saved 220 games and never had an ERA above 2.96. In the 1989 season, he only walked three batters while pitching 57.2 innings. In the 1990 season, he only allowed five earned runs and his ERA was 0.61. This season also set a record as he was the first relief pitcher in history to have more saves than baserunners allowed, 48 saves, 41 hits and four walks. In the 1992 season, Eck had 51 saves and became the American League’s MVP and Cy Young Award winner. The 1993 season saw a diminished Eckersley pitching capabilities, and he became a free agent after the 1994 season when the A’s decided not to exercise a four million contract extension. The team fiREMEMBER | SEE PAGE 13
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