Dennis Eckersley

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.\n', ' Eckersley grew up in Fremont, California, rooting for both the San Francisco Giants and the Oakland Athletics. Two of his boyhood heroes were the Giants\' Willie Mays and Juan Marichal, and he later adopted Marichal\'s high leg kick pitching delivery. He was a quarterback at Washington High School in Fremont, California until his senior year, when he gave up football to protect his throwing arm from injury. He won 29 games as a pitcher at Washington, throwing a 90 miles per hour (140 km/h) fastball and a screwball.\n', ' The Cleveland Indians selected Eckersley in the third round of the 1972 MLB draft; he was disappointed that he was not drafted by the Giants. 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 Earned run average (ERA). His unstyled, long hair, moustache, and live fastball made him an instant and identifiable fan favorite. Eckersley pitched reliably over three seasons with the Indians.[citation needed]\n', '