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Dennis Eckersley

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Baseball Player

The Resume

    (October 3, 1954- )
    Full name is Dennis Lee Eckersley
    Pitcher for Cleveland Indians (1975-1977), Boston Red Sox (1978-1984, 1998), Chicago Cubs (1984-1986), Oakland Athletics (1987-1995), and St. Louis Cardinals (1996-1997)
    Threw right, batted right
    Six-time American League All-Star (1977, 1982, 1988, 1990-1992)
    Member of three American League championship teams (1988-1990) and one World Series championship team (1989) with the Athletics
    Career record of 197-171 (48-41 as a reliever), 2,401 strikeouts, and a 3.50 ERA
    Winner of Most Valuable Player (MVP) and Cy Young Award, 1992
    Inducted into Baseball's Hall of Fame (July 25, 2004)

Why he might be annoying:

    He surrendered a two-out, two-run home run to Kirk Gibson of the Los Angeles Dodgers in the bottom of the ninth inning of Game One of the 1988 World Series to give the Dodgers a 5-4 victory, a win that propelled the Dodgers to a World Series championship in five games.
    He was involved in a trade from the Red Sox to the Cubs in 1984 in which the Red Sox obtained Bill Buckner.
    He has been divorced twice.
    His older brother, Wallace, is serving time in a Colorado prison for attempted murder and kidnapping.
    He is a recovering alcoholic whose career was nearly ruined by excessive drinking in the early to mid 1980's with the Red Sox and Cubs.

Why he might not be annoying:

    He began his big league career with the Indians in 1975 with a record 28 2/3 innings without allowing an earned run.
    He was named The Sporting News American League Rookie Pitcher of the Year in 1975.
    He pitched a 1-0 no-hitter versus the California Angels (May 30, 1977).
    He was traded to the Red Sox prior to the 1978 season and had his best season as a starter that year, compiling a 20-8 record with a 2.99 ERA.
    He was favorably compared to Don Drysdale by Don Zimmer.
    The Cubs traded him to the A's just before the start of the 1987 season and in return received three minor-league players who never played a game in the major leagues.
    After being traded to the A's, he stopped drinking and resurrected his career by channeling his addiction into something positive.
    He became obsessive about his workout regimen, which helped him continue pitching until he was nearly 44 years old.
    He reinvented the role of the relief closer by usually pitching only in the ninth inning with his team in the lead.
    After becoming the A's full-time closer late in the 1987 season, he averaged 44 saves per year from 1988 to 1992 and saved more than 40 games in four of those seasons, becoming the first pitcher to save 40 more or games four times.
    He saved all four A's victories in the 1988 American League Championship Series against the Red Sox.
    His success as a reliever was greatly attributed to pinpoint control, as he walked very few batters.
    He is the only pitcher with 100 saves and 100 complete games.
    He is only the third pitcher elected to the Hall of Fame primarily as a reliever, after Hoyt Wilhelm and Rollie Fingers.

Credit: Highpointer


Featured in the following Annoying Collections:

Year In Review:

    For 2024, as of last weekly ranking, Out of 1 Votes: 100% Annoying
    In 2023, Out of 11 Votes: 63.64% Annoying
    In 2022, Out of 3 Votes: 33.33% Annoying
    In 2021, Out of 39 Votes: 12.82% Annoying
    In 2020, Out of 7 Votes: 85.71% Annoying
    In 2019, Out of 12 Votes: 50.0% Annoying
    In 2018, Out of 3 Votes: 0% Annoying
    In 2017, Out of 5 Votes: 40.0% Annoying
    In 2016, Out of 3 Votes: 66.67% Annoying
    In 2015, Out of 4 Votes: 50.0% Annoying
    In 2014, Out of 14 Votes: 50.0% Annoying
    In 2013, Out of 8 Votes: 37.50% Annoying
    In 2012, Out of 16 Votes: 50.0% Annoying
    In 2011, Out of 13 Votes: 53.85% Annoying
    In 2010, Out of 31 Votes: 64.52% Annoying
    In 2009, Out of 24 Votes: 45.83% Annoying
    In 2008, Out of 32 Votes: 46.88% Annoying
    In 2007, Out of 83 Votes: 51.81% Annoying
    In 2006, Out of 119 Votes: 47.90% Annoying
    In 2005, Out of 234 Votes: 49.15% Annoying
    In 2004, Out of 353 Votes: 50.71% Annoying