Is Dennis Eckersley over-rated??

[MilkSpiller22]

I will argue that he is!!! I will admit that i am only 29, so i didn't see him as a starting pitcher, and was too young to appreciate most of his career... so i can only base this on his statistical numbers...


From 1975-1986 when he was a starter for almost all of his appearances he had an ERA,WHIP,Ks of 3.67,1.212,1627(152 for 162 game season) and a 15-12 record for 162 game average...

He only had 20 or more wins once in his career and only had an ERA of less than 3.3 4 times and a WHIP of less than 1.2 6 times, and had 150 or over Ks 5 times...

He did have some good seasons as a starter but overall he was not very special...

1987-1998 is where He made his name as a RP, and he was a great RP, but he averaged 1.37 innings per Relief appearances and most of those was in 1987 his first year as a RP where he had 117 innings to his 54 appearances...

From 1988-1998 he average 1.25 innings per appearance... and had a 2.98 ERA with a .999 WHIP, those numbers are par with other great relievers...

So basically what i am saying is that he is NOT the best reliever of all time, and he was Not even the best reliever PRE Mariano...

He deserves his HOF, but it does look like his legend is over-rated...

 

[MilkSpiller22]

I will argue that he is!!! I will admit that i am only 29, so i didn't see him as a starting pitcher, and was too young to appreciate most of his career... so i can only base this on his statistical numbers...


From 1975-1986 when he was a starter for almost all of his appearances he had an ERA,WHIP,Ks of 3.67,1.212,1627(152 for 162 game season) and a 15-12 record for 162 game average...

He only had 20 or more wins once in his career and only had an ERA of less than 3.3 4 times and a WHIP of less than 1.2 6 times, and had 150 or over Ks 5 times...

He did have some good seasons as a starter but overall he was not very special...

1987-1998 is where He made his name as a RP, and he was a great RP, but he averaged 1.37 innings per Relief appearances and most of those was in 1987 his first year as a RP where he had 117 innings to his 54 appearances...

From 1988-1998 he average 1.25 innings per appearance... and had a 2.98 ERA with a .999 WHIP, those numbers are par with other great relievers...

So basically what i am saying is that he is NOT the best reliever of all time, and he was Not even the best reliever PRE Mariano...

He deserves his HOF, but it does look like his legend is over-rated...

those innings per appearances are wrong it is actually 1.12 and 1.05

 

[Cedrique]

Yeah, it's hard to say if he would have been a hall of famer if he had been a starter for his whole career. I'm guessing he would have had to somehow get to 300 wins. He did have some ridiculous stats in some of those years as a reliever though. 0.61 ERA, 2 years in a row with a SO/BB ratio of OVER 18! Wow.

Also, his legend may be over-rated, but his mullet is vastly underrated

 

[obxyankeefan]

As a 1 inning closer, he was the best pre MO. As a reliever, there were three or four I would take over him.

 

[MilkSpiller22]

As a 1 inning closer, he was the best pre MO. As a reliever, there were three or four I would take over him.

i would take tom henke over him...

 

[obxyankeefan]

i would take tom henke over him...

I wouldn't even consider Henke. At that time there was a mystique about the A's, and Eck was almost untouchable. It wasn't just his low ERA, but look at his walk rate. I think it was 88 where he only walked 4 batters the whole year. That's what made Gibson's HR so great.

 

[MilkSpiller22]

I wouldn't even consider Henke. At that time there was a mystique about the A's, and Eck was almost untouchable. It wasn't just his low ERA, but look at his walk rate. I think it was 88 where he only walked 4 batters the whole year. That's what made Gibson's HR so great.

And that is my point... we as fans create a mystique about players where it over-rates these players.. Eckersley was a great RP but Tom Henke was a better RP than him... But i think Henke was the BEST Closer of all time before MO...

 

[Ojb81]

One of the best mullet/mustache combos in pro sports history

 

[DragonfromTO]

I wouldn't even consider Henke. At that time there was a mystique about the A's, and Eck was almost untouchable. It wasn't just his low ERA, but look at his walk rate. I think it was 88 where he only walked 4 batters the whole year. That's what made Gibson's HR so great.

All that mystique didn't stop Alomar from getting him either.

As for the subject line, yes I think he probably is. I'm not sure exactly what the general opinion of him is so it's tough to say. He's not a guy that's talked about so much.

 

[Rock Strongo]

eck, in his prime, was the best coser pre-mo ive ever seen. he had a stretch where he wa nearly unhittable...add in his CY/MVP year (we can debate that all day and go nowhere)...

side note:

i know someone here who was in AA with eck, when he came back to the sox for a last hurrah. guys hardcore for AA, still goes to meetings.

 

[MilkSpiller22]

Eckersley had 5 years of being a great RP, and in those 5 years he was just as good as any modern day closer including Mariano...

But the rest of his career as a RP was eh at best... The problem with mystique is that we only remember a player at his best and due to that we believe his prime lasted longer than it did...

Interesting that 5 years as a Great RP, and 5 years as a Very good starter and 14 years of mediocrity makes him the BEST RP of all time...

 

[Indrid Cold]

I think Eck is WAY overrated and gets way too much credit for having some success in two different roles...he wasn't really a GREAT pitcher, IMHO. Smoltz was similar in many ways, although better, and waltzed into the HOF ahead of guys who I think are more deserving (like Schilling). The writers seem to be dazzled by guys who could start and close and don't look too closely at how well they actually pitched for their careers.

Got to Fenway long before game time with a buddy some years ago and was wandering around the bowels of the stadium with him. We happened to come across Eck walking the other way and, before we could even break stride or utter a word, he rolled his eyes in an exaggerated way, sighed, and picked up his pace to get away from us. Really came across as a prick, and it wasn't like we tried to stop him and ask for an autograph or anything...hell, I sure didn't want his autograph. El Tiante, yes, Eck, NO.

 

[Erie Warrior]

As closer Eck was one of the best ever. As a starter he was very average. So, do I think he was over-rated, I guess over his whole career, yes. As a closer? No way.

 

[UK Cowboy]

I saw Eck pitch, as a closer, only Mariano was better IMO

 

[tducey]

Great closer for sure but yeah not much of a starter/