43 days ’til Opening Day

There are 43 days left until that best day of the year, MLB Opening Day.

Dennis Eckersley wore the number 43 on his jersey while he established himself as one of the best closers of all time. He was a good starter for the first half of his long career, and he is still fifth all-time in saves, even though he didn’t close at all until his 13th major league season.

Eckersley also won the MVP award in 1992 as a closer — an extremely difficult feat for a closer. Can you imagine that happening today?