Dennis Eckersley, baseball player, 1975-1998

Dennis Eckersley

⭐ Hall of Fame 2004

Born: 10/3/1954 in Oakland, CA, USA

MLB Debut: 1975-04-12 | Final Game: 1998-09-26

Bats: R | Throws: R | Height: 6'2" | Weight: 190 lbs

Full name: Dennis Lee Eckersley

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Biography

Dennis Eckersley, born in 1954, was a prominent Major League Baseball pitcher whose career spanned from 1975 to 1998. Renowned for his dynamic transition from a starting pitcher to a dominant closer, Eckersley was a key figure in the evolution of relief pitching during the late 20th century. His impressive career record of 197-171 was complemented by a 3.5 ERA and an outstanding total of 2,401 strikeouts. With 390 saves, he established himself as one of the most reliable closers of his era, helping redefine the role in a time when the strategy of bullpens was evolving. Eckersley's accolades included being named the TSN Rookie Pitcher of the Year, earning the ALCS MVP award, and winning the prestigious Cy Young Award. His six All-Star selections underscored his consistent excellence on the mound. In 2004, he was inducted into the Hall of Fame, solidifying his legacy as one of baseball's greats. Eckersley's ability to dominate hitters with his unique delivery and a signature slider made him a standout performer, and he remains a significant figure in the history of the game, particularly in the context of the changing dynamics of pitching in the modern era.

Career Pitching Statistics

W L G GS CG SHO SV IP H ER HR BB SO ERA Pitcher PIV
197 171 1071 361 100 20 390 3285.7 3076 1278 347 738 2401 3.50 0

Career ERA 3.50 vs. league average 3.99 across their career seasons — 12.3% better than league average.

Season-by-Season Pitching

Year Team Lg W L G GS CG SHO SV IP H ER BB SO ERA Lg ERA Pitcher PIV
1975 CLE AL 13 7 34 24 6 2 2 186.7 147 54 90 152 2.60 3.71 (+30%) 382.6
1976 CLE AL 13 12 36 30 9 3 1 199.3 155 76 78 200 3.43 3.51 (+2%) 4105.0
1977 CLE AL 14 13 33 33 12 3 0 247.3 214 97 54 191 3.53 4.00 (+12%) 2831.0
1978 BOS AL 20 8 35 35 16 3 0 268.3 258 89 71 162 2.99 3.69 (+19%) -112.5
1979 BOS AL 17 10 33 33 17 2 0 246.7 234 82 59 150 2.99 4.00 (+25%) 1083.1
1980 BOS AL 12 14 30 30 8 0 0 197.7 188 94 44 121 4.28 3.84 (-11%) -147.1
1981 BOS AL 9 8 23 23 8 2 0 154.0 160 73 35 79 4.27 3.58 (-19%) 2022.7
1982 BOS AL 13 13 33 33 11 3 0 224.3 228 93 43 127 3.73 3.86 (+3%) -701.8
1983 BOS AL 9 13 28 28 2 0 0 176.3 223 110 39 77 5.61 3.87 (-45%) -3496.9
1984 BOS AL 4 4 9 9 2 0 0 64.7 71 36 13 33 5.01 3.81 (-31%) -977.0
1984 CHC NL 10 8 24 24 2 0 0 160.3 152 54 36 81 3.03 3.81 (+20%) -
1985 CHC NL 11 7 25 25 6 2 0 169.3 145 58 19 117 3.08 3.89 (+21%) -
1986 CHC NL 6 11 33 32 1 0 0 201.0 226 102 43 137 4.57 3.97 (-15%) -
1987 OAK AL 6 8 54 2 0 0 16 115.7 99 39 17 113 3.03 4.29 (+29%) 4799.9
1988 OAK AL 4 2 60 0 0 0 45 72.7 52 19 11 70 2.35 3.73 (+37%) 2768.2
1989 OAK AL 4 0 51 0 0 0 33 57.7 32 10 3 55 1.56 3.71 (+58%) 2216.9
1990 OAK AL 4 2 63 0 0 0 48 73.3 41 5 4 73 0.61 3.86 (+84%) 4700.3
1991 OAK AL 5 4 67 0 0 0 43 76.0 60 25 9 87 2.96 3.91 (+24%) 2062.2
1992 OAK AL 7 1 69 0 0 0 51 80.0 62 17 11 93 1.91 3.75 (+49%) 4116.3
1993 OAK AL 2 4 64 0 0 0 36 67.0 67 31 13 80 4.16 4.19 (+1%) 2649.8
1994 OAK AL 5 4 45 0 0 0 19 44.3 49 21 13 47 4.26 4.51 (+6%) 1216.2
1995 OAK AL 4 6 52 0 0 0 29 50.3 53 27 11 40 4.83 4.45 (-8%) 1183.1
1996 STL NL 0 6 63 0 0 0 30 60.0 65 22 6 49 3.30 4.61 (+28%) -
1997 STL NL 1 5 57 0 0 0 36 53.0 49 23 8 45 3.91 4.39 (+11%) -
1998 BOS AL 4 1 50 0 0 0 1 39.7 46 21 8 22 4.76 4.43 (-8%) -320.9

Career Batting Statistics

G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB BB SO AVG OBP SLG OPS PIV
1073 181 9 24 3 0 3 12 0 9 84 0.133 0.173 0.199 0.372 -1446.7

Career AVG .133 vs. league average .261 across their career seasons — 49.2% below league average.

Career OBP .173 vs. league average .328 across their career seasons — 47.3% below league average.

Career SLG .199 vs. league average .394 across their career seasons — 49.5% below league average.

Career OPS 0.372 vs. league average 0.722 across their career seasons — 48.5% below league average.

Season-by-Season Batting

Year Team Lg G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB BB SO AVG Lg AVG Lg OBP Lg SLG Lg OPS PIV
1975 CLE AL 34 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 — — — — 0.0
1976 CLE AL 36 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 — — — — 0.0
1977 CLE AL 34 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 — — — — 0.0
1978 BOS AL 35 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 — — — — 0.0
1979 BOS AL 33 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 — — — — 0.0
1980 BOS AL 30 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 — — — — 0.0
1981 BOS AL 23 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 — — — — 0.0
1982 BOS AL 33 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 — — — — 0.0
1983 BOS AL 28 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 — — — — 0.0
1984 BOS AL 9 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 — — — — 0.0
1984 CHC NL 24 55 1 6 0 0 0 1 0 1 25 0.109 .259 (-58%) .322 (-61%) .384 (-72%) .707 (-67%) 0.0
1985 CHC NL 26 56 1 7 0 0 1 1 0 7 25 0.125 .257 (-51%) .323 (-31%) .390 (-54%) .714 (-44%) -394.9
1986 CHC NL 33 69 7 11 3 0 2 10 0 1 34 0.159 .257 (-38%) .325 (-48%) .395 (-27%) .720 (-36%) -455.8
1987 OAK AL 54 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 — — — — 0.0
1988 OAK AL 60 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 — — — — 0.0
1989 OAK AL 51 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 — — — — 0.0
1990 OAK AL 63 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 — — — — 0.0
1991 OAK AL 67 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 — — — — 0.0
1992 OAK AL 69 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 — — — — 0.0
1993 OAK AL 64 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 — — — — 0.0
1994 OAK AL 45 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 — — — — 0.0
1995 OAK AL 52 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 — — — — 0.0
1996 STL NL 63 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0.000 — — — — 0.0
1997 STL NL 57 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 — — — — 0.0
1998 BOS AL 50 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 — — — — 0.0

Postseason Statistics

Playoff Career Batting

G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO AVG
28 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0.000

Playoff Batting by Year

Year Round Team G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO AVG
1998 ALDS1 BOS 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
1996 NLCS SLN 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
1996 NLDS2 SLN 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
1992 ALCS OAK 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
1990 ALCS OAK 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
1990 WS OAK 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
1989 ALCS OAK 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
1989 WS OAK 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
1988 ALCS OAK 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
1988 WS OAK 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
1984 NLCS CHN 1 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0.000

Playoff Career Pitching

W L G GS SV IP H ER BB SO ERA
1 3 28 1 15 36.0 35 12 3 22 3.00

Playoff Pitching by Year

Year Round Team W L G GS SV IP H ER BB SO ERA
1998 ALDS1 BOS 0 0 1 0 0 1.0 1 1 0 1 9.00
1996 NLCS SLN 1 0 3 0 1 3.3 2 0 0 4 0.00
1996 NLDS2 SLN 0 0 3 0 3 3.7 3 0 0 2 0.00
1992 ALCS OAK 0 0 3 0 1 3.0 8 2 0 2 6.00
1990 ALCS OAK 0 0 3 0 2 3.3 2 0 0 3 0.00
1990 WS OAK 0 1 2 0 0 1.3 3 1 0 1 6.75
1989 ALCS OAK 0 0 4 0 3 5.7 4 1 0 2 1.59
1989 WS OAK 0 0 2 0 1 1.7 0 0 0 0 0.00
1988 ALCS OAK 0 0 4 0 4 6.0 1 0 2 5 0.00
1988 WS OAK 0 1 2 0 0 1.7 2 2 1 2 10.80
1984 NLCS CHN 0 1 1 1 0 5.3 9 5 0 0 8.44

Fielding Statistics

Career Fielding Totals by Position

Position G GS PO A E DP
P 1071 361 208 365 31 20

Season-by-Season Fielding

Year Team Pos G GS PO A E DP
1975 CLE P 34 24 7 12 1 0
1976 CLE P 36 30 9 20 1 1
1977 CLE P 33 33 6 22 2 1
1978 BOS P 35 35 19 29 0 1
1979 BOS P 33 33 12 42 6 3
1980 BOS P 30 30 10 24 3 0
1981 BOS P 23 23 12 19 1 1
1982 BOS P 33 33 21 21 1 2
1983 BOS P 28 28 19 18 1 0
1984 BOS P 9 9 11 11 1 2
1984 CHN P 24 24 16 27 4 1
1985 CHN P 25 25 10 26 3 1
1986 CHN P 33 32 16 28 3 3
1987 OAK P 54 2 4 13 1 0
1988 OAK P 60 0 7 3 0 0
1989 OAK P 51 0 4 4 0 1
1990 OAK P 63 0 3 1 0 0
1991 OAK P 67 0 6 9 0 0
1992 OAK P 69 0 3 10 0 1
1993 OAK P 64 0 0 5 0 0
1994 OAK P 45 0 2 1 0 0
1995 OAK P 52 0 3 5 1 2
1996 SLN P 63 0 3 6 1 0
1997 SLN P 57 0 3 5 0 0
1998 BOS P 50 0 2 4 1 0

Career Games by Position

Position Games
Pitcher 1071
Designated Hitter 1

Awards & Honors

Year Award Notes
1992 Cy Young Award
1992 MLB Players Choice Outstanding Player
1992 Most Valuable Player
1992 Reliever of the Year Award
1992 TSN Fireman of the Year
1992 TSN Pitcher of the Year
1991 TSN Fireman of the Year
1988 ALCS MVP
1988 Reliever of the Year Award
1988 TSN Fireman of the Year
1985 Player of the Week Week of 1985-04-19
1978 Player of the Week Week of 1978-09-29
1977 Player of the Week Week of 1977-06-04
1975 TSN Rookie Pitcher of the Year

Featured In Rankings

#4
Top 20 Closers of All Time in History of MLB Baseball
Ranked 4 of 20
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Salary History

Year Team League Salary
1998 BOS AL $1,500,000
1997 SLN NL $1,625,000
1996 OAK AL $300,000
1996 SLN NL $2,250,000
1995 OAK AL $2,861,113
1994 OAK AL $3,800,000
1993 OAK AL $3,800,000
1992 OAK AL $3,150,000
1991 OAK AL $3,000,000
1990 OAK AL $787,500
1989 OAK AL $1,062,500
1988 OAK AL $650,000
1987 OAK AL $833,333
1986 CHN NL $783,333
1985 CHN NL $750,000
Total Career Earnings $27,152,779

Award Voting History

Year Award League Finish Points Won Points Max Votes First
1992 Cy Young Award AL 1st 107.0 140 19
1992 Most Valuable Player AL 1st 306.0 392 15
1990 Cy Young Award AL 5th 2.0 140 0
1990 Most Valuable Player AL 6th 112.0 392 1
1989 Cy Young Award AL 6th 3.0 140 0
1989 Most Valuable Player AL 5th 116.0 392 3
1988 Cy Young Award AL 2nd 52.0 140 1
1988 Most Valuable Player AL 5th 156.0 392 0
1979 Cy Young Award AL 7th 1.0 140 0
1978 Cy Young Award AL 4th 10.0 140 0
1978 Most Valuable Player AL 31th 4.0 392 0