Dennis Eckersley recalls his last inning in The Bigs

On October 2, 1998, Dennis Eckersley was 43 years old, a future Hall of Famer, and about to find out that all good things come to an end

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[sammy]

I love eck, he’s such a character and is great in the booth.

[mrveritas]

Great clip. Great pitcher. Great attitude!

[Devan-hekr]

My dad watched him pitch for the Sox when he was 14, I watched him pitch for the Sox when I was 8. Always thought that was cool.

[mammycher]

Always the most humble person. That's what I love about him.

[jackson]

Love Eck. Hates him during the Royals vs As rivalry, but love him even more now. He brought out the best in me as a fan. He could play in any situation as a pitcher. Man he was great

[fdavid]

Great attitude. Loved watching him pitch.

[beatricereale]

Dennis Eckersley such a doll! So much integrity!

[SpacedDuck]

Eck has been a real treat to listen to on NESN calling Sox games. Such a shame we will have to listen to O'Brian next to him.

[Trucker]

Eck is one cool guy, best windup ever!

[azcardguy]

It’s amazing that he was still pitching in 1998…

[mikegulliver]

I love the way he tells stories - always with humor and humility. But he was practically unhittable in his dominant closer years with the A's. His resurgence was so improbable, as I recall, because in '84 before he was traded from Boston they were calling him "Upper Deckersley" due to his penchant for serving up meatballs at the time. He had no zip on the fastball, and spent a couple of mediocre years in Chicago...it looked like the end. But then he suddenly got cleaned up and reinvented himself in Oakland, and transformed himself this completely different pitcher. Nobody saw it coming. But by 1998, he was legitimately washed up and back where he was when he first left Boston. In retrospect, he really achieved a great career and entertained a lot of baseball fans in the process.

[tylergagnon]

How poetic that the HR was to Manny, One boston great giving way to another.

[ETC_Rohaly_USCG]

My Great Grandfather played for the A’s before they got transferred to CA. Pete Husting. From Wisconsin. I actually got to see his name on the Miller field memorial wall

[ETC_Rohaly_USCG]

As both my Uncles, and later me played ball for the same Highschool. They were both Pitchers. I was more a Utility player. But could get the ball from Right Field to the plate. ❤

[georgeslupski]

I have talked to him 4-5 times I always bring up the no hitter he pitched. Listened to it with my brother. Eck just laughs

[ronmackinnon]

While the Ramirez home run padded the Indians lead, it proved to be the margin of difference, as the Red Sox rallied for two in the bottom of the ninth, losing 4-3 (if I'm not mistaken, I think all 4 of Cleveland's runs were on solo home runs). In that respect, the game was eerily similar to one played at Fenway 20 years to the day earlier, October 2, 1978--the one-game playoff against the Yankees for the AL East title. Similar in that Jackson's solo homer off of Bob Stanley extended the Yankees lead to 5-2, but wound up being the margin of difference, as the Red Sox rallied for two in the bottom of the eighth and wound up losing 5-4. Even more fittingly, Eckersley was himself a veteran of that '78 Red Sox squad--providing continuity between anguishing losses exactly 20 years apart (the Indians closed out the '98 playoff series the following day, thanks to a meltdown by bullpen ace Tom Gordon).

I also want to mention that, in Eckersley's final regular season appearance a week earlier, he broke by one game Hoyt Wilhelm's record for games by a pitcher. I believe it was 1, 071--that record has likewise since been surpassed.

[marlamaples]

When you give up a jack, the pitching coach makes a mound visit and offers you the AAA coaching job...it's time to hang up the cleats (I know that's not how it went, but he kind of bundles the two events in a funny way).

[Blankford]

Final frame;

Manny, HR
Thome, K
Fryman, F9
Giles, F5

[kevinherd]

As a kid in HS I was a big Eck fan and the Sox were in town, Frank Tanana & Eck at the big A. Both pitched gems but Eck took the loss.

[ernestkills]

Was that pitch to Ramírez 94mph? Or 84mph?