Boston Red Sox broadcaster Dennis Eckersley announced Monday that this will be his final season in the NESN booth.
It ends a 50-year run in Major League Baseball for the Hall of Fame pitcher, who was drafted by Cleveland in 1972.
Eckersley, 67, has been providing colorful and at times outspoken analysis on Red Sox broadcasts since 2003.
“After 50 years in Major League Baseball, I am excited about this next chapter of my life,” Eckersley said. “I will continue to be an ambassador for the club and a proud member of Red Sox Nation, while transitioning to life after baseball alongside my wife Jennifer, my children and my grandchildren.”
A six-time All-Star, Eckersley was a 20-game winner with Cleveland in 1977 before transitioning to the bullpen and becoming one of the greatest closers of all time.
He won a World Series with Oakland in 1989 and swept the American League Cy Young and Most Valuable Player awards with the A’s in 1992.
Inducted into Cooperstown in 2004, Eckersley was 197–171 with 390 saves and a 3.50 ERA in 1,071 games (361 starts) with the Indians (1975–77), Red Sox (1978–84, 1998), Chicago Cubs (1984–86), Athletics (1988–95) and St. Louis Cardinals (1996–97).
