Flanked by 50 Hall of Famers, cheered by hundreds of fans, and staring out at his parents, Dennis Eckersley repeatedly fought back tears on Sunday and managed to complete his induction speech into the Baseball Hall of Fame.
The cocky right-hander with the mustache and shaggy hair was humbled as never before.
"It was brutal. I've never been through something like this. I can't explain it," said Eckersley, who was elected on the first ballot in January with former Milwaukee Brewers star Paul Molitor. "I've been nervous before, but you just don't know how it's going to come off. I'd rather pitch. It's overwhelming."
PHOTO: EPA
Even more overwhelming was Eckersley on the mound. In 24 seasons with five teams, he appeared in 1,071 games, the most of any Hall of Fame pitcher, and finished with a record of 197-171 and 390 saves.
The sweet-swinging Molitor accumulated 3,319 hits in his 21-year career with Milwaukee, Toronto and Minnesota.
Eckersley grew up in the Oakland area and his parents were always near when he was playing ball. His father, Wallace, would leave work early to watch him play, coached Little League and even dragged the infield before and after games in his Ford Ranchero while mom, Bernice, worked the snack bar.
They were there on Sunday, even though dad is confined to a wheelchair and breathes with the help of an oxygen tank because of emphysema.
"My parents were there for me, and they're here for me now," Eckersley said. "My dad struggled to get here today, and both of us knew nothing could have stood in the way of us sharing this moment together."
Eckersley, who broke in with Cleveland in 1975, began his career anew after the Chicago Cubs dealt him to Oakland at the start of the 1987 season -- when his baseball life seemed all but over because of drinking problem.
Under the guidance of manager Tony La Russa and bullpen coach Dave Duncan, Eckersley was converted from a starter into an overpowering reliever and quickly became the game's dominant closer, expected to pitch only the ninth inning when the A's had a lead.
It was a revolutionary idea at the time, transformed the position into what it is today, and became his ticket to Cooperstown. But without seeking help for his alcoholism prior to that season, Eckersley wouldn't have attained the highest honor in the sport.
Also inducted were longtime A's and Giants broadcaster Lon Simmons, who won the Ford C. Frick Award for major contributions to baseball broadcasting. The New York Times' Murray Chass gained entrance as the J.G. Taylor Spink Award recipient for meritorious contributions to baseball writing.
Carlos Delgado hit a three-run homer to become the first Toronto player to drive in 1,000 runs, and David Bush got his first major league win as the Blue Jays beat the Tampa Bay Devil Rays 5-3 Sunday.
Toronto completed a three-game sweep of the Devil Rays, who have lost six straight overall and nine in a row on the road. Since moving a season-high two games over .500 on July 3, Tampa Bay has gone 5-15.
"Today is today. Whatever happens at the end of the year we'll deal with that later," said Delgado, who is in the last year of a US$68 million, four-year contract. "Right now, it was a good day. We won the game, and I got to 1,000 RBI, which is great."
Bush (1-1) allowed three runs -- one earned -- and eight hits in 7 1-3 innings. In his previous start against Oakland last Tuesday, Bush took a no-hit bid into the eighth inning. Aubrey Huff ended Bush's 17-inning scoreless streak by homering in the sixth.
Kerry Ligtenberg got five outs for his third save in four chances, completing Toronto's first three-game sweep of Tampa Bay since May 19-21, 1998.
Tigers 9, White Sox 2
In Chicago, Marcus Thames hit his first career grand slam and the Detroit Tigers overcame the ejections of starter Jeremy Bonderman and manager Alan Trammell.
Carlos Guillen had three singles -- he was 8-for-13 in the series -- as the Tigers avoided a three-game sweep and knocked the White Sox out of first place in the AL Central.
Bonderman and Trammell were ejected in the second inning after Bonderman hit Chicago's Aaron Rowand with a pitch, minutes after Paul Konerko's homer.
Bonderman was replaced by Wilfredo Ledezma (1-0), who allowed a run on four hits in 3 2-3 innings. Jon Garland (7-7) took the loss.
Mariners 6, Angels 2
In Seattle, Dave Hansen and Bucky Jacobsen homered to back Joel Pineiro, and the Mariners took advantage of Kevin Gregg's record-tying wildness to avoid a three-game sweep.
Gregg threw four wild pitches in the eighth inning, tying the post-1900 major league regular-season record, set by Walter Johnson in 1914 and matched by Phil Niekro in 1979. Bert Cunningham threw five wild pitches in one inning in 1890, and Rick Ankiel threw five in an NL playoff game in 2000.
Pineiro (6-11) allowed one run and five hits in eight innings, struck out seven and walked none.
Ramon Ortiz (3-6) started in place of Jarrod Washburn, who was missed his turn became of an inflamed ligament on the left side of his chest. He gave up three runs and six hits over seven innings in his eighth start of the season, his first since June 22.
Red Sox 9, Yankees 6
In Boston, Kevin Millar homered and drove in four runs to lead the Red Sox over the New York Yankees.
The victory was a treat for Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry, who threw out the ceremonial first pitch then stood and cheered several times as he watched his home-state team from a box next to the Red Sox dugout.
Derek Lowe (9-9) pitched one of his best games in a subpar season, helping the Red Sox take two of three in the series and pull to 7 1/2 games behind the AL East-leading Yankees. Boston leads the season series 8-5 with six games remaining.
Jose Contreras (8-4) struggled again against the Red Sox, allowing eighth runs in 5 1-3 innings. He fell to 0-4 in his career against Boston.
There were three hit batsmen Sunday, a day after a bench-clearing brawl. New York's Jorge Posada in the first and Boston's Doug Mirabelli and Millar in the second. All three runners went to first base without incident.
Eric Milton pitched eight hitless innings before Michael Barrett blooped a double just in front of center fielder Doug Glanville, and the Philadelphia Phillies beat the Chicago Cubs 3-2 on Pat Burrell's run-scoring single in the ninth.
Philadelphia led 2-0 when Barrett was jammed by an 0-1 fastball leading off the ninth, Milton's 98th pitch of the game. Glanville, who replaced Ricky Ledee in the eighth, at first broke back, then charged in and just missed an attempt for a diving catch.
Milton then struck out pinch-hitters Jose Macias and Alex Gonzalez, giving him a season-high 12 strikeouts, but Mark Grudzielanek singled and Corey Patterson doubled, tying the score and chasing Milton. Ryan Madson (7-2) relieved and retired Sammy Sosa on a grounder.
LaTroy Hawkins (2-3) walked Jim Thome leading off the bottom half and Glanville sacrificed. Burrell drove the next pitch to deep right-center.
Chicago's Mark Prior, pitching for the first time since leaving a game July 15 because of a tender elbow, allowed two runs and five hits in six innings.
Cardinals 6, Giants 0
In St. Louis, Matt Morris threw a seven-hitter for his seventh career shutout, and the St. Louis Cardinals took advantage of Jerome Williams' wildness in the fifth inning.
The Cardinals avoided a sweep after losing the first two games of the three-game series, and beat the Giants for only the second time in seven games at home the last two seasons. The NL Central leaders have won 16 of 20 overall and 13 of 16 at home.
Morris (11-6) threw his 15th career complete game, and John Mabry was 3-for-3 with a homer.
The teams' big stars -- Barry Bonds and Albert Pujols -- both got the day off.
Yadier Molina's two-run single was the only hit in the fifth off Williams (9-7), who walked three straight and also issued an intentional walk in the inning.
Braves 4, Mets 3
In New York, fielding errors by rookies David Wright and Kaz Matsui led to three unearned runs for Atlanta, and Mike Hampton threw six strong innings.
J.D. Drew hit his 24th homer for the Braves, who have taken over first place in the NL East with 12 wins in their last 16 games.
Wright, called up Wednesday from Triple-A Norfolk, made his second error in four games at third base and the Braves took advantage by scoring twice in the second against Steve Trachsel (9-7). Matsui's 20th error in the fifth allowed the Braves to score another run.
Hampton (6-8) won his fourth straight game this month and limited the Mets -- his former team -- to five hits.
Pirates 6, Reds 5
In Pittsburgh, pinch-hitter Rob Mackowiak drove in the go-ahead run with an RBI double in the fifth, helping the Pirates come from behind and complete a three-game sweep of the Reds.
Tike Redman hit a three-run homer for the Pirates, who rallied from a 5-1 deficit to win for the eighth time in their last 10 games. Pittsburgh has also won 14 of its last 15 at home.
Sean Burnett (5-2) won his fifth straight start despite struggling through 5 1-3 innings. He allowed five runs and seven hits after allowing just three earned runs in his previous 28 innings. Jose Mesa, the fifth Pirates' pitcher, worked the ninth for his 29th save.
Padres 3, Dodgers 0
In Los Angeles, Adam Eaton allowed one hit in seven innings, Phil Nevin and Brian Giles homered and the Padres averted a three-game sweep.
The loss was only the third in 20 games for the Dodgers, who had won 11 of their previous 15 meetings with the Padres. Los Angeles leads San Diego and San Francisco by 3 1/2 games in the NL West.
Eaton (6-8) allowed only Alex Cora's single in the fourth to win his fourth straight road start. He struck out three in seven innings and walked two.
Akinori Otsuka pitched a perfect eighth, and Trevor Hoffman gave up Cesar Izturis' double in the ninth before earning his 26th save in 29 attempts and completing the two-hitter. Jeff Weaver (7-10) allowed two runs and six hits over seven innings.
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