As Dennis Eckersley prepares to retire from the NESN broadcast booth following the season, plenty of fans and members of the media have teed up touching tributes for a man who has been an integral part of the Red Sox experience for years.
On Monday, during the NESN broadcast of a 4-3 Boston victory over the Rays — their 160th game of the 162-game season — Red Sox beat writer Alex Speier of The Boston Globe offered a heartfelt anecdote about what Eckersley has meant to his family and to baseball in Boston.