Dennis Eckersley retiring from NESN Red Sox broadcasts at season's end
BOSTON -- A familiar voice will no longer be heard on a regular basis in New England, as Dennis Eckersley has decided to retire from his role as color analyst on Red Sox television broadcasts.
The Boston Globe's Chad Finn reported the news on Monday, noting that the 67-year-old Eckersley will be moving to California to "spend as much time as possible with his twin grandchildren."
"There are times in your life when you realize you've got to get on with it," Eckersley told Finn. "Having grandkids in the Bay Area and visiting them in the offseason, that pushed me along. I just knew, you need to go and be with the kids. Those formative years, you need to be there. There's only so much time. How can you not see that in front of you without thinking, 'Wait a minute, man.' There have to be other priorities. You need to think of other people."
Eckersley has worked at NESN since 2003, working primarily as a studio analyst. But he grew into a color analyst role in the booth, and his chemistry working alongside the late Jerry Remy created a truly unique baseball broadcast. Eckersley often operated with his own dictionary, leading to fans keeping track of "Eckisms" from the broadcasts.
Eckersley was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 2004, following his 24-year big league career with the Indians, Red Sox, Cubs, A's, and Cardinals. After a six-plus-year stint with the Red Sox from 1978-84, Eckersley returned to Boston in 1998 for his final season.
"I came back my last year in '98 to play here," Eckersley told Finn. "Why, I don't know. I was horrible. But there was probably a reason I was supposed to do that when you look back at your life. I may have never fallen into broadcasting if I hadn't."
While Eckersley has been the primary color analyst this season, he has not done the job full-time. Former Red Sox players Kevin Millar and Kevin Youkilis, as well as 98.5 The Sports Hub's Tony Massarotti have worked as color analysts this year.
