E-Mail This Article to a Friend READY FOR HIS CLOSE-UP Former Soxer Dennis Eckersley is hall-bound BY CHRISTOPHER YOUNG

Like a high-school kid preparing himself to ask the pretty girl to the prom the next day, Dennis Eckersley went through every possible emotion and imagined every possible scenario in the days and weeks leading up to Tuesday’s call from the Baseball Hall of Fame. He tried to anticipate his feelings if the answer was "yes," if it was "no," or if it was "not this year, but maybe next." He listened to friends and former teammates in the game he loved so much tell him he was golden, yet he continued to check the Internet regularly to read updates on his chances. He was encouraged by the numerous articles that called him a shoo-in to become just the 39th first-ballot Hall-of-Famer since Cooperstown first opened its shrine in 1936, but that optimism faded if he read even one story that questioned his chances.

As a result, he claimed he hadn’t slept in the three nights leading up to the announcement that he and Paul Molitor were the only two members of the Class of 2004 to receive the requisite 75 percent of ballots that would grant them induction into the Hall on July 26. Molitor received 431 votes (85.18 percent), while the Eck got 421 (83.2 percent), confirming most people’s suspicions that the two long-time stars were always locks for induction.

Eckersley began his career with the Cleveland Indians as a starter back in 1975, and he collected 40 wins in three seasons for some mediocre Tribe teams. In 1978, he came to Boston, where he notched his only 20-win season for the team that would ultimately lose the pennant to the Yankees in the 163rd game of the season. Eckersley pitched six more seasons for the Sox before being sent to the pitching-depleted Chicago Cubs in 1984, a trade that would affect the fortunes not only of the then-29-year-old — who would soon be demoted to the bullpen — but to the Red Sox franchise, which received a little-used first baseman named Bill Buckner in trade. A drinking problem had begun to take its toll on Eckersley, and if not for his decision to seek help, the subsequent chapters of his career that ultimately led to Tuesday’s call might never have unfolded. A brief 1987 stint in rehab preceded a trade to the Oakland A’s, where manager Tony La Russa gambled that Eckersley could be an effective closer. Four division titles, three pennants, a world championship, and 390 saves later, the long-haired fireballer was deemed worthy of baseball’s ultimate honor.

In 1992, Eckersley was virtually unhittable. He was voted the league MVP and Cy Young Award winner on the basis of his 7-1 record, 1.92 ERA, and his remarkable feat of converting 51 saves in 54 chances. He played two seasons in St. Louis in the late ’90s before finishing his career in Boston in 1998, retiring at the end of the season at age 44.

In an emotional press conference at Fenway Park on Tuesday, Eckersley seemed on the verge of tears as he discussed how "blessed" he was to be selected. The Eck acknowledged his personal struggles — which have cost him two marriages — but acknowledged that he "got a second chance, and I made the most of it." In a wavering voice mixed in with frequent audible sighs of relief and gratitude, the still-disbelieving Hall-of-Famer claimed that Tuesday was "the greatest moment of my life." With Jennifer, his partner of three years, in attendance, Eckersley flew to New York City last night for additional festivities, although his superstitious nature wouldn’t even allow the couple to pack for the trip in advance until they got the call from the Hall.

Eckersley admitted that he had never even visited Cooperstown for fear of jinxing his chances for induction. In July, the affable and deserving right-hander will join the ranks of baseball’s elite — although he probably still won’t believe it until they shove him up to the podium. Only then will he realize that as the ’90s premier closer, he does indeed belong in Cooperstown, a fact that the rest of us have known all along.

Christopher Young’s "Sporting Eye" column runs Mondays and Fridays at BostonPhoenix.com. Young can be reached at cyoung[a]phx.com