Dennis Lee Eckersley was born on 3 October 1954, in Oakland, California USA, and is a retired professional baseball player, best known for playing as a pitcher in Major League Baseball (MLB) from 1975 to 1998, for the Cleveland Indians, Chicago Cubs, St. Louis Cardinals, Boston Red Sox and Oakland Athletics. All of his efforts helped put his net worth to where it is today.
How rich is Dennis Eckersley? As of mid-2017, sources inform us of a net worth that is at $20 million, mostly earned through a successful career in professional baseball. He achieved a lot of his fame as a closer and became the first of only two pitchers in MLB history to earn 50 saves and 20 wins in a season, but all of his achievements ensured the position of his wealth.
Dennis Eckersley Net Worth $20 million
Dennis grew up watching baseball and was a fan of both the San Francisco Giants and the Oakland Athletics. He developed his pitching skills, but would also play football while attending Washington High School, but had to stop to protect his throwing arm. He played as a pitcher for Washington and won 29 games with a 90-mile-per-hour fastball.
Dennis joined the 1972 MLB Draft and was selected by the Cleveland Indians during the third round. He made his MLB debut in 1975 and would become the American League Rookie Pitcher of the Year with a 13-7 win-loss record. He started earning popularity with his first All-Star selection three years later, with a 14-13 win-loss record. He was then traded to the Boston Red Sox and would win a career-high 20 games in 1978. However, later in his career with Boston, he started pitching poorly, and it led to his being traded to the Chicago Cubs. Despite that, his net worth continued to build, especially as he helped the Cubs get to their first postseason appearance since 1945. He stayed with the Cubs until 1986 but was then sent to rehabilitation due to alcoholism, which started to affect his performance.
In 1987 he was traded to Oakland Athletics and was then moved as a closer after an injury to Jay Howell. He flourished in the role and would become dominant, earning 45 saves in 1988. The Athletics would win the 1989 World Series, and he would earn the save of the final game of the Series. He continued being a dominant closer in the next few years, and became the Cy Young Award winner and American League’s Most Valuable Player in 1992, with 51 saves during the season. His net worth continued to flourish thanks to his performances.
In 1994 he became a free agent; during his final playing years, he became part of the St. Louis Cardinals, and then the Boston Red Sox for one final season. He eventually completed more games than any other pitcher in MLB history, at 1,071. He was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 2004.
For his personal life, it is known that Eckersley was married to Denise (21973-78) who left him for Rick Manning; the affair led to his trade to the Red Sox. After two years, he married model Nancy O’Neil but they divorced in 2004 after he retired from baseball. He is now married to former lobbyist Jennifer.