Dennis Eckersley
Eckersley's 1990 season produced one of the most dominant pitching performances in baseball history. His 0.61 ERA that year translates to an ERA+ of 631 — meaning he was more than six times better than league average. That's not a typo.
The transformation from starter to closer defined his career arc. After 12 seasons as a rotation stalwart, Eckersley reinvented himself in Oakland's bullpen and became baseball's most feared ninth-inning weapon. His slider was so devastating that hitters knew it was coming and still couldn't touch it.
What makes Eckersley truly unique is winning both a Cy Young and MVP award as a reliever in 1992 — a feat accomplished by only two players in history. His 2,401 career strikeouts split almost evenly between starting and closing speaks to his rare versatility and longevity across two distinct roles.
Career · Hitting
24 seasons| Year | Team | G | AB | HR | RBI | AVG | OPS | OPS+ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1975 | CLE | 34 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — |
| 1976 | CLE | 36 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — |
| 1977 | CLE | 34 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — |
| 1978 | BOS | 35 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — |
| 1979 | BOS | 33 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — |
| 1980 | BOS | 30 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — |
| 1981 | BOS | 23 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — |
| 1982 | BOS | 33 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — |
| 1983 | BOS | 28 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — |
| 1984 | CHC | 33 | 55 | 0 | 1 | .109 | .234 | 33 |
| 1985 | CHC | 26 | 56 | 1 | 1 | .125 | .401 | 56 |
| 1986 | CHC | 33 | 69 | 2 | 10 | .159 | .459 | 64 |
| 1987 | ATH | 54 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — |
| 1988 | ATH | 60 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — |
| 1989 | ATH | 51 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — |
| 1990 | ATH | 63 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — |
| 1991 | ATH | 67 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — |
| 1992 | ATH | 69 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — |
| 1993 | ATH | 64 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — |
| 1994 | ATH | 45 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — |
| 1995 | ATH | 52 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — |
| 1996 | STL | 63 | 1 | 0 | 0 | .000 | .000 | 0 |
| 1997 | STL | 57 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — |
| 1998 | BOS | 50 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — |
| Career | 1073 | 181 | 3 | 12 | .133 | — | — | |
Career · Pitching
24 seasons| Year | Team | G | IP | W | L | ERA | ERA+ | SO | WHIP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1975 | CLE | 34 | 186.7 | 13 | 7 | 2.60 | 142 | 152 | 1.270 |
| 1976 | CLE | 36 | 199.3 | 13 | 12 | 3.43 | 102 | 200 | 1.169 |
| 1977 | CLE | 33 | 247.3 | 14 | 13 | 3.53 | 113 | 191 | 1.084 |
| 1978 | BOS | 35 | 268.3 | 20 | 8 | 2.99 | 123 | 162 | 1.226 |
| 1979 | BOS | 33 | 246.7 | 17 | 10 | 2.99 | 133 | 150 | 1.188 |
| 1980 | BOS | 30 | 197.7 | 12 | 14 | 4.28 | 89 | 121 | 1.174 |
| 1981 | BOS | 23 | 154.0 | 9 | 8 | 4.27 | 84 | 79 | 1.266 |
| 1982 | BOS | 33 | 224.3 | 13 | 13 | 3.73 | 103 | 127 | 1.208 |
| 1983 | BOS | 28 | 176.3 | 9 | 13 | 5.61 | 69 | 77 | 1.486 |
| 1984 | CHC | 33 | 225.0 | 14 | 12 | 3.60 | 106 | 114 | 1.209 |
| 1985 | CHC | 25 | 169.3 | 11 | 7 | 3.08 | 126 | 117 | 0.969 |
| 1986 | CHC | 33 | 201.0 | 6 | 11 | 4.57 | 87 | 137 | 1.338 |
| 1987 | ATH | 54 | 115.7 | 6 | 8 | 3.03 | 141 | 113 | 1.003 |
| 1988 | ATH | 60 | 72.7 | 4 | 2 | 2.35 | 158 | 70 | 0.867 |
| 1989 | ATH | 51 | 57.7 | 4 | 0 | 1.56 | 237 | 55 | 0.607 |
| 1990 | ATH | 63 | 73.3 | 4 | 2 | 0.61 | 631 | 73 | 0.614 |
| 1991 | ATH | 67 | 76.0 | 5 | 4 | 2.96 | 132 | 87 | 0.908 |
| 1992 | ATH | 69 | 80.0 | 7 | 1 | 1.91 | 196 | 93 | 0.913 |
| 1993 | ATH | 64 | 67.0 | 2 | 4 | 4.16 | 100 | 80 | 1.194 |
| 1994 | ATH | 45 | 44.3 | 5 | 4 | 4.26 | 106 | 47 | 1.398 |
| 1995 | ATH | 52 | 50.3 | 4 | 6 | 4.83 | 92 | 40 | 1.272 |
| 1996 | STL | 63 | 60.0 | 0 | 6 | 3.30 | 139 | 49 | 1.183 |
| 1997 | STL | 57 | 53.0 | 1 | 5 | 3.91 | 112 | 45 | 1.075 |
| 1998 | BOS | 50 | 39.7 | 4 | 1 | 4.76 | 93 | 22 | 1.361 |
| Career | 1071 | 3285.6 | 197 | 171 | — | — | 2401 | — | |
Matchups, projections, comps — grounded in Lahman, Retrosheet, and Statcast.