Dennis Eckersley

Dennis Lee Eckersley, nicknamed "Eck," is an American former professional baseball pitcher and color commentator, born October 3, 1954. He grew up in Fremont, California, where he rooted for both the San Francisco Giants and the Oakland Athletics and attended Washington High School. Two of his boyhood heroes were the Giants' Willie Mays and Juan Marichal, and he later adopted Marichal's high leg-kick pitching delivery.

Eckersley pitched in Major League Baseball from 1975 to 1998, appearing for the Cleveland Indians, Boston Red Sox, Chicago Cubs, Oakland Athletics, and St. Louis Cardinals. He found success as a starter but gained his greatest fame as a closer, becoming the first of two pitchers in major league history to record both a 20-win season and a 50-save season in a career.

He was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 2004, in his first year of eligibility. After his playing career, Eckersley worked as a broadcaster. He served as a part-time color commentator for Boston Red Sox broadcasts on NESN, and worked for Turner Sports as a game analyst for its Sunday MLB games and MLB postseason coverage on TBS. He retired from NESN in 2022.