Your 1981 Red Sox Pt. 7: Dennis Eckersley

In this series, I will look at each player who played in 1981, the year I was born. Because, why not?

I do not want to get too much into Dennis Eckersley's Red Sox career.  After all, I did just cover this part of his career a couple of months ago when he appeared in my Red Sox in Cooperstown series.  Essentially, he came over from Cleveland as a young, very talented pitcher and was the ace of the staff for a couple of years early on.  Then he went through some up and down years before being traded to the Cubs for Bill Buckner.  Later, after becoming a terrific closer, he finished his career as a setup man for the Red Sox in 1998.  

Now that we have that out of the way: 1981.

1981 was one of the tough years in Eckersley's career as a starting pitcher.  He was coming off the worst season in his career to that point when he was 12-14 with a 4.28 ERA.  In the strike-interrupted 1981 season, he was not much better.  He finished the season with a winning record, 9-8, and his ERA was just one hundredth of a point lower at 4.27.  His FIP improved from 3.87 to 3.07, but his WHIP increased from 1.174 to 1.266.  It was certainly not a return to form from Eckersley, being mostly in line with his 1980 season.

From there he would improve in 1982 to the point that he was an All Star, then follow that up with a terrible 1983 season.  And after starting off rough in 1984, he was traded.  

Red Sox in Cooperstown Pt. 28: Dennis Eckersley

DENNIS ECKERSLEY
Years in Boston: 1978-1984, 1998 (88-71, 3.92 ERA, 1 save, 1,371.2 innings, 771 strikeouts, 312 walks)
Best Year in Boston: 1978 (20-8, 2.99 ERA, 268.1 innings, 162 strikeouts, 71 walks)

Dennis Eckersley is primarily in the Hall of Fame because of his outstanding career as a closer.  But Eckersley started his career as a very impressive starting pitcher.  He was one of the best starters in the game for several seasons, until his career began to stall.  After a few seasons of mediocre results, he was turned into a relief pitcher by his manager in Oakland, Tony LaRussa.  And his career at that time got a big boost.  Eckersley was the best closer in the game for several seasons.  And he cruised into the Hall of Fame on his first ballot.

After a few good seasons to start his career with the Cleveland Indians (including throwing the only no-hitter of his career), Eckersley was traded to the Red Sox along with Fred Kendall for a package of players including Rick Wise, Mike Paxton, Ted Cox, and Bo Diaz.  Boston easily won the deal as Eckersley became one of the best pitchers in the game.  He won 20 games with a 2.99 ERA for a Red Sox team that made it to a one-game playoff with the Yankees to determine the AL East winner.  Eckersley finished fourth in the Cy Young vote that year.

1979 saw Eckersley have a similar year.  He had the same ERA and was 17-10, but he finished seventh in the Cy Young vote that season.  Unfortunately, after that Eckersley's numbers started to decline, with some exceptions.  In 1980, he was 12-14 with a 4.28 ERA and then 9-8 with a 4.27 ERA in 1981.  The Red Sox in general were not very good those seasons, so Eckersley was one of the better pitchers on the team.

Eckersley made it into his first All-Star game with the Red Sox in 1982 (his second overall) and actually started the game.  He took the loss after giving up three runs in three innings.  He had been 9-7 with a 3.20 ERA at the half.  He declined a little in the second half and ended the season 13-13 with a 3.73 ERA and led the league in strikeouts-to-walks at 2.95.  He struck out 127 and walked just 43 in 224.1 innings.  He was easily the team's best starter.

Unfortunately in 1983, Eckersley had his worst season of his still-young career at 28 years old.  He was 9-13 with a 5.61 ERA, and his strikeout-to-walk ratio dropped to 1.97.  He started off poorly in 1984 at 4-4 with a 5.01 ERA before being traded to the Cubs for Bill Buckner.  With the Cubs, Eckersley was able to improve his numbers somewhat before having another poor season in 1986.  He was traded to Oakland the next season and turned into a terrific closer.

After several seasons as one of the best closers in the game, including a 1992 season in which he won both the Cy Young Award and the MVP, with the Athletics and Cardinals, Eckersley returned to Boston as a free agent in 1998.  It was the last season of Eckersley's Major League career.  He was not the closer, as that job belonged to Tom Gordon in his first season as a closer.  Eckersley was used as more of a setup man, though he did record the last save of his career.  He finished the season 4-1 with a 4.76 ERA and struck out 22 while walking eight in 39.2 innings.  He retired after the season.

Dennis Eckersley wears an Oakland Athletics cap on his Hall of Fame plaque.  He had some great seasons with the Red Sox as a starting pitcher, but it is not as a starter that Eckersley will be remembered.  Eckersley's numbers as a starter with the Red Sox were good, but not Hall of Fame-worthy, other than his 1978-1979 seasons.  He is in the Red Sox Hall of Fame.

Season in Review: 1998

Boston returned to the playoffs in 1998 after winning the Wild Card at 92-70.  Unfortunately they were knocked out in the ALDS by the Cleveland Indians i four games.  The big change was the acquisition of 1997 NL Cy Young winner Pedro Martinez.

FIVE FAVORITE PLAYERS
Nomar Garciaparra
Coming off a fantastic rookie season, Nomar was even better in 1998.  He moved down into more of a run production spot in the order and responded with another great season.  He finished second in the AL MVP race and probably should have won it.  He hit .323/.362/.584 with 35 home runs and 122 RBIs.  His stolen bases dipped to 12 and hits to 195, but otherwise he had better numbers than his rookie season.

Mo Vaughn
The Hit Dog had his last great season of his career in 1998.  It was also his final season in Boston, which was fairly heartbreaking.  Vaughn crushed 40 home runs and drove in 115.  He also finished second in the AL batting race to Bernie Williams, ending with a season line of .337/.402/.591.  He also had a strong performance in the ALDS.

Tom Gordon
Flash's first full season as closer was a resounding success.  He accumulated a team season record of 46 saves and set a Major League record in consecutive save opportunities converted.  He also made the All Star team and won the Rolaids Relief Award winner in a no-brainer.  He also had a 7-4 record, 2.72 ERA, and 78 strikeouts.

Tim Wakefield
The knuckleballer had a very good season in 1998, finishing second on the team with 17 wins which would be a career high.  His overall numbers were 17-8, 4.02 ERA, and 146 strikeouts in 216 innings.  He was once again a workhorse for the Red Sox.

John Valentin
Valentin had a tough season in 1998, but he did finish with some decent numbers.  Unfortunately it would be his last good season with Boston as injuries would start to take their toll.  Valentin hit .247/.340/.442 with 23 home runs and 73 RBIs.  He was also very good defensively in 1998 at third base.

HONORABLE MENTIONS
Bret Saberhagen
Saberhagen won the Comeback Player of the Year in 1998 as he finished with a very successful season.  He had a record of 15-8 with a 3.96 ERA and 100 strikeouts versus just 29 walks in 175 innings.

Troy O'Leary
The only outfielder with a decent season, O'Leary developed into a fairly potent middle of the order bat with his first 20 home run season.  O'Leary hit .270/.314/.468 with 23 home runs and 83 RBIs.  It was his first season in left field.

Reggie Jefferson
Dealing with injuries most of the season lead to Jefferson playing in only 62 games in 1998.  He hit well in those games, as he typically did.  Jefferson finished with a line of .306/.374/.520 with eight home runs and 31 RBIs.

FAVORITE ACQUISITIONS
Pedro Martinez
There is no doubt that Pedro Martinez was the best pickup of the year for the Red Sox in 1998.  The right-hander solidified the rotation and gave Boston the ace it had been lacking since Roger Clemens.  Martinez finished second in the Cy Young race after finishing second to Clemens in the three main pitching categories. He went 19-7 with a 2.89 ERA and 251 strikeouts in 233.2 innings.

Dennis Eckersley
It was Eck's final season of his Hall of Fame career.  He was brought in to serve as a mentor for Gordon in his conversion from starter to closer, which was something Eckersley himself did.  Eck went 4-1 with a 4.76 ERA and one save.  He was dominating, but he got the job done.

Darren Lewis
Lewis was brought in to infuse some speed into Boston's lineup and defense into the outfield.  He succeeded on both fronts stealing 29 bases and playing well in the outfield.  He also had a decent year at the plate, hitting .268/.352/.362 with eight home runs and 63 RBIs out of the leadoff spot.

Damon Buford
Acquired in a trade with Texas, Buford performed very well as a backup outfielder.  He hit .282/.349/.523 with ten home runs, 42 RBIs, and five stolen bases.  It was his best season in the Major Leagues.

FAVORITE MIDSEASON ACQUISITION
Mike Stanley
Stanley made his second stint with the team after being traded in 1997 to the Yankees.  This time he was acquired in a deadline deal with the Blue Jays for Peter Munro and Jay Yennaco, neither of whom did anything for the Jays.  Stanley helped after the injuries to Jefferson hitting .288/.388/.500 with seven home runs and 32 RBIs in 47 games.

FAVORITE ROOKIE
Jason Varitek
It was the second consecutive year that Boston had an impressive rookie catcher.  Varitek essentially took the starting role from Scott Hatteberg by the end of the season after hitting .253/.309/.407 with seven home runs and 33 RBIs.


BIGGEST DISAPPOINTMENTS
Donnie Sadler
Sadler was supposed to be the next great middle infielder Boston developed after Garciaparra.  He was billed as being a good contact hitter with blazing speed.  Sadler started on Opening Day but proved he was not ready yet after hitting just .226/.276/.395.

Jim Leyritz
I really liked the acquisition of Leyritz, even though it cost Aaron Sele who had a great year for Texas in 1998.  Leyritz even hit well for his time in Boston with a line of .287/.385/.519 with eight home runs and 24 RBIs.  But Leyritz was not happy with his role.  He was brought in to platoon at first base, catcher, and designated hitter.  But Varitek developed into a good player, squeezing Leyritz out of one position.  He complained and was eventually traded to San Diego.

Mark Lemke
This was more of a personal disappointment for me as I always liked Lemke when he played for the Braves. He was brought in as depth if Sadler disappointed.  He did, and Lemke took over until he went down with a concussion.  His career was over.

PLAYOFF HERO
Nomar Garciaparra
Garciaparra hit .333/.333/1.000 in the ALDS with three home runs and 11 RBIs.

PLAYOFF GOAT
Tom Gordon
Gordon had some difficulties with nerves in the postseason and it showed.  He blew a save and took the loss in the final game of the series.

Underrated Seasons: Dennis Eckersley 1979

What was the most valuable season by Dennis Eckersley? Would you believe that it was 1979?

It's often forgotten just how good of a starting pitcher Dennis Eckersley was prior to becoming one of the greatest closers of all time. Eckersley was once one of the best starting pitchers in the American League and even performed reasonably well with the Chicago Cubs. Eckersley won 20 games with the Red Sox in 1978 and was fourth in the Cy Young voting.

However, in 1979 Eckersley was even better. He won only 17 games, losing 10, but his ERA was the same at 2.99, and his WHIP was lower at 1.18. He lead the league in adjusted ERA+ and pitched 17 complete games. More to the point though, Eck's WAR that year was 6.8, which was the highest in the Major Leagues that year. And for all that, Eck finished seventh in the Cy Young voting, gaining just one vote.

It's often forgotten that Eck was once a great starter. He may not have been good enough to make the Hall of Fame, but he was certainly a talented pitcher.

Most Wins Without Starting a Single Game

When I get bored, I look at statistics, particularly on this site. Recently, I was curious as to the most wins by a relief pitcher who never started a game with the Red Sox. I can't quite remember why I thought of this, perhaps it had to do with looking at the early 1990's and how bullpen use has changed so much. At any rate, I know victories don't really tell us much as an individual stat, but I wanted to look into it anyway. So here we go, with a cutoff of 10 wins, the most victories by a Red Sox pitcher who did not start a single game that year:

Dick Radatz - 1964 - 16 W (It does not surprise me to see him on this list at all. The Monster was truly one of a kind. He lead the team in victories that year.)
Dick Radatz - 1963 - 15 W
Mark Clear - 1982 - 14 W (Clear actually led the team in victories that year)
Bill Campbell - 1977 - 13 W
Bob Stanley - 1982 - 12 W (How about 1982? Two relief pitchers with more than 10 Ws without starting a single game. Weird.)
Ellis Kinder - 1953 - 10 W
Mike Fornieles - 1960 - 10 W
John Wyatt - 1967 - 10 W

NOTES
-As I mentioned, I am not at all surprised to see Radatz. He won 49 games in just a few years with the Red Sox, and never started a single game.

-The modern exclusive relief pitcher is a fairly recent concept, so I am not surprised to not see anybody pre-1950.

-Most of the names are not terribly surprising. Radatz, Stanley, Fornieles, Campbell, and Kinder were all fairly well-known relief pitchers in their time. Clear and Wyatt are probably the most surprising. Clear was an All Star that year and Wyatt was an underrated and forgotten key component to the 1967 A.L. Champs.

-1982 was apparently an unusual year. The Red Sox had four pitchers with more than 10 wins, two of whom were Clear and Stanley. The other two were Dennis Eckersley and John Tudor, each of whom only had 13 wins. Clear lead the team in victories and he and Stanley each had 14 saves.

-I wonder what the record is? Is Radatz close? Unfortunately, without a colossal investment of time, I'm not sure how to check.