Dennis Eckersley is a former professional pitcher. He won 29 games as a pitcher at Washington University, throwing a 90 mile per hour fastball, and a screwball.

The Cleveland Indians selected Eckersley in the third round of the 1972 MLB draft. He made his MLB debut on April 12, 1975. He was the American League Rookie Pitcher of the Year in 1975, compiling a 13–7 win-loss record and 2.60 ERA. Between 1975 and 1998, he pitched in the MLB for the Cleveland Indians, Boston Red Sox, Chicago Cubs, Oakland Athletics, and St. Louis Cardinals. Eckersley had success as a starter, but gained his greatest fame as a closer, becoming the first of two pitchers in MLB history to have both a 20-win season and a 50-save season in a career. Eckersley was eventually traded from Cubs to the Athletics. In the 1989 World Series with the Athletics, he secured the victory in Game Two, and then earned the save in the final game of the Series, as the A's swept the San Francisco Giants in four games.

Eckersley was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 2004, his first year of eligibility. He works with New England Sports Network (NESN) as a part-time color commentator for Red Sox broadcasts, and is also a game analyst for Turner Sports for their Sunday MLB Games and MLB Post Season coverage on TBS.