Ah, the joy of it all, listening to this conversation between two of MLB’s most renowned HOF pitchers, former rivals and good friends: Jim Palmer and Dennis Eckersley.
These two-faced one another in opposing uniforms between 1975 and 1984. Both would enter Baseball’s Hall of Fame and the competitiveness that got them there can be heard in this edition of the SPORTS RIVALS.
The HOF Pitchers
Palmer pitched for the Orioles, and only the Orioles, from 1965-1984. His extraordinary career includes three Cy Young Awards, six World Series appearances, three World Series rings and a record of 268-152.
To say he was a dominating pitcher would be an understatement. For an amazing eight seasons, he was a 20-game winner, simply unheard of in the modern baseball era.
Jim finished with a 268-152 record, a 2.86 career ERA and entered the Hall of Fame in 1990.
Eckersley spent 24 years pitching in the majors. He began his career as a starter with the Indians, Red Sox and Cubs before becoming a preeminent closer with Oakland. He is the only pitcher in MLB history with 100 complete games and 100 saves.
His final career numbers include 197 wins and 390 saves, averaging 44 saves per season between 1988 and 1992.
As a closer in 1992, he was both the Cy Young Award winner and the league MVP with a 7-1 record, 51 saves and a 1.91 ERA. He was a control master who in the last 10 years of his career walked just 86 in 600+ innings.
Dennis entered the Hall of Fame in 2004.
These are two gregarious masters of pitching. They are friends who love to talk the game, their careers and their relationship.
Here is the story of how they first became aware of one another as opposing pitchers, their memories of head-to-head games on the mound and their appreciation for one another as pitchers and friends.
You get to drop in on this conversation right now.
Enjoy.
Further Listening:
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If you loved this episode, check out our others:
- The Crawl of Fame | Ep 1
- 1985 American League Championship | Ep 2
- Red Sox-Yankees Rivalry | Ep 3
- 1984 Tigers vs Blue Jays | Ep 4
- 2002 World Series | Giants vs Angels | Ep 5
- UCLA vs Arizona | NCAA Mens’ Basketball | Ep 6
- ACC College Basketball | MD vs VT | Ep 7
- Army vs Navy | NCAA Football | Ep 8
- GM vs Agent | Major League Baseball | Ep 9
- 1988 NLCS | Dodgers vs Mets | Ep 10
- In The Press Box | Nightengale vs Miller | Ep 11
- Reporters | Adamson vs Coakley | Ep 12
- Coaches | Raftery vs Carlesimo | Ep 13
- Pitchers | Blyleven vs Langston | Ep 14
- Public Relations | Horwitz vs Swanson | Ep 15
- Swimming | USA vs East Germany | Ep 16
- 1983 Sugar Bowl | PSU vs GA | Ep 17
- OSU vs Oregon | NCAA Basketball | Ep 18
- Olympic Diving | Potter vs King | Ep 19