The best careers after age 35 in MLB history: 19. Dennis Eckersley, 1990-98 (35-43)
- 437 games finished
- 293 saves
- 3.18 ERA
- 1.058 WHIP
Dennis Eckersley began his MLB career as a starting pitcher. He was pretty decent as a starting pitcher and won close to 150 games with two All-Star appearances. In 1987, everything changed. The Oakland Athletics pushed Eckersley to the closer role and his career path completely changed to a Hall of Fame track. Eckersley dominated opposing hitters with his new role so much so that Call to the Pen recently ranked him as the sixth-greatest closer of all time.
Eckersley spent 12 years closing ball games and nine of these seasons came after his 35th birthday, earning him the 19th spot on this list. In total, Eckersley finished 437 games and racked up 293 saves after turning 35. His 293 saves ranks second on the all-time list of players over 35 while his 437 games finished ranks third.
The Hall of Famer earned three All-Star appearances during this span while pitching to a 3.18 ERA and 1.058 WHIP. His 1992 campaign was one of his career highlights as the six-time All-Star led the AL with 65 games finished and all of baseball in 51 saves. The 1990 campaign was another equally dominant year. Eckersley turned 35 in 1990 and put together an All-Star campaign with 61 games finished, 48 saves, and a stifling 0.61 ERA.
Eckersley is just one of 11 pitchers to win both the Cy Young Award and Most Valuable Player Award in the same season and just the second relief pitcher to ever accomplish that feat. This incredible accomplishment came in 1992 at the age of 37.