Boston Red Sox: Remembering the best trades in franchise history
By Drew Athans
Dennis Eckersley
Before he was one of the greatest closers of all time for the Oakland A’s, before he became well-known on Red Sox NESN broadcasts for “cheese” and “moss” and “going bridge,” Dennis Eckersley was a really good starting pitcher.
After spending the first three seasons of his career in Cleveland, he was traded to the Red Sox in 1978 for Rick Wise, Ted Cox, Mike Paxton, and Bo Diaz. The impetus of the trade was a bit strange as Cleveland shipped Eck out because there was clubhouse drama when his first wife cheated on him with his Indians teammate Rick Manning!
Eck immediately paid dividends for the Sox by going 20-8 in 1978 with a 2.99 ERA and 162 strikeouts. He had another great season in 1979 when he went 17-10 with a 2.99 ERA and 150 strikeouts, but he struggled the rest of his time in Boston.
From 1980 to 1984 Eck saw his velocity diminish and he’d go 47-52 during those years. Upon being traded to the Chicago Cubs midway through the 1984 season, Eck finished his Red Sox career with an 84-71 record, a 4.13 ERA, and 771 strikeouts.
After leaving the Red Sox, Eckersley struggled in Chicago before kicking his alcoholism and turning into one of the game’s greatest closers as an Oakland A in the late 1980s and 1990s. He returned to Boston for the final season of his career in 1998 as a set-up man.
While he wasn’t the greatest pitcher the Red Sox ever had, he was a crucial contributor to the 1978 team that should have went to the World Series and was much better for the Red Sox than the guys they sent to Cleveland. And of course, we all know what he’s like as a broadcaster (just don’t ask David Price).