Goose Gossage
Goose Gossage | |
---|---|
Pitcher | |
Born: Colorado Springs, Colorado, U.S. | July 5, 1951|
Batted: Right Threw: Right | |
Professional debut | |
MLB: April 16, 1972, for the Chicago White Sox | |
NPB: July 4, 1990, for the Fukuoka Daiei Hawks | |
Last appearance | |
NPB: October 10, 1990, for the Fukuoka Daiei Hawks | |
MLB: August 8, 1994, for the Seattle Mariners | |
MLB statistics | |
Win–loss record | 124–107 |
Earned run average | 3.01 |
Strikeouts | 1,502 |
Saves | 310 |
NPB statistics | |
Win–loss record | 2–3 |
Earned run average | 4.40 |
Strikeouts | 40 |
Saves | 8 |
Teams | |
| |
Career highlights and awards | |
| |
Baseball Hall of Fame | |
Induction | 2008 |
Vote | 85.8% (ninth ballot) |
Richard Michael "Goose" Gossage (born July 5, 1951) is an American former baseball pitcher who played 22 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) between 1972 and 1994. He pitched for nine different teams, spending his best years with the New York Yankees and San Diego Padres.
In the late 1970s and early 1980s, Gossage was one of the earliest manifestations of the modern
Respected for his impact in crucial games, Gossage recorded the final out to clinch a division, league, or World Series title seven times. His eight All-Star selections as a reliever were a record until Mariano Rivera passed him in 2008; he was also selected once as a starting pitcher. He was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 2008. He now works in broadcasting.
Career
Gossage grew up near N. Cascade Avenue in
Gossage led the American League (AL) in saves in 1975 (26). After the 1976 season, the White Sox traded Gossage and
Gossage again led the AL in saves in 1978 (27) and 1980 (33). On October 2,
One of his most impressive performances was on September 3, 1978, in a game vs. the Seattle Mariners. Replacing Sparky Lyle in the top of the 9th with runners on second and third and no outs, he preserved a 4–3 lead by striking out the next three batters in 11 pitches.[3][4]
On April 19, 1979, following a Yankee loss to the
Gossage recorded saves in all three Yankee victories in the 1981 AL Division Series against the Milwaukee Brewers, not allowing a run in 6+2⁄3 innings, and he was again the final pitcher when they clinched the 1981 pennant against the Oakland Athletics. In 1983, his last season with the Yankees, Gossage broke Sparky Lyle's club record of 141 career saves; Dave Righetti passed his final total of 150 in 1988. Gossage holds the Yankees' career record for ERA (2.14) and hits per nine innings (6.59) among pitchers with at least 500 innings for the team.
In eight of his first ten seasons as a closer, Gossage's ERA was less than 2.27.[7] Over his career, right-handed hitters hit .211 against him.
Gossage became upset with Yankees' owner George Steinbrenner for meddling with the team. In 1982, he called Steinbrenner "the fat man upstairs", and disapproved of the way Yankees' manager Billy Martin used him. Gossage became a free agent after the 1983 season, and insisted that he would not resign with New York.[8] He signed with the San Diego Padres. In 1984, Gossage clinched another title, earning the save in Game 5 of the NL Championship Series and sending the Padres to their first World Series; after San Diego had scored four runs in the seventh inning to take a 6–3 lead against the Chicago Cubs, Gossage pitched the final two innings, getting Jody Davis to hit into a force play for the final out. During Game 5 of the 1984 World Series versus the Detroit Tigers, after receiving signs from the coaches on the Padres bench and a mound visit by manager Dick Williams, Gossage refused to intentionally walk right fielder Kirk Gibson with two runners on and first base open. On the second pitch, Gossage and the Padres would regret that decision as Gibson homered to deep right field, clinching a World Series win for the Tigers. On August 17, 1986, Gossage struck out Pete Rose in Rose's final major-league at bat.[9]
Gossage was dealt along with
Gossage signed with the Texas Rangers for the 1991 season. On July 23, 1991, a statistical coincidence was noted when he recorded his 308th career save to preserve Nolan Ryan's 308th win. Gossage signed one-year contracts to pitch for the Oakland Athletics in 1992 and 1993.[12]
Gossage signed with the
Gossage had a record 112 career blown saves. ESPN.com noted that blown saves are "non-qualitative", pointing out that the two career leaders—Gossage and Rollie Fingers (109)—were both inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame.[13] Fran Zimniuch in Fireman: The Evolution of the Closer in Baseball wrote, "But you have to be a great relief pitcher to blow that many saves. Clearly, [Gossage] saved many, many more than he did not save."[14] More than half of Gossage's blown saves came in tough situations, with the tying run on base when the pitcher entered. In nearly half of those blown tough saves, he entered the game in the sixth or seventh inning. Multiple-inning outings provide more chances for a reliever to blow a save, as he needs not only to get out of the initial situation but also to pitch additional innings in which to possibly lose the lead.[15]
Pioneer of the closer role
The
Gossage and top relievers of his era were known as
During his career, Gossage pitched in 1,002 games and finished 681 of them, earning 310 saves. Per nine innings pitched, he averaged 7.45 hits allowed and 7.47 strikeouts. He also made nine All-Star appearances and pitched in three World Series.
Pitching style
Gossage was one of the few pitchers who employed basically just one pitch, a fastball. Occasionally he would throw a slurve or a changeup. Despite his reputation as a pitcher who intentionally threw at hitters, Gossage stated that he threw at only three hitters in his career: Ron Gant, Andrés Galarraga, and Al Bumbry.[24]
Nickname
The nickname "Goose" came about when a friend did not like Gossage's nickname "Goss", and noted he looked like a goose when he extended his neck to see the signs given by the catcher.[25][26] Although Gossage is otherwise generally referred to as "Rich" in popular media, a youth sports complex in his hometown of Colorado Springs named after him bears the name "Rick", displaying "Rick 'Goose' Gossage Youth Sports Complex".[27]
Retirement
Gossage lives in his home town, Colorado Springs, Colorado, and is active in the community promoting and sponsoring youth sports. In 1995, the city of Colorado Springs dedicated the Rick "Goose" Gossage Youth Sports Complex,[28] which features five fields for youth baseball and softball competition. He also owned hamburger restaurants in Greeley and Parker, Colorado, called Burgers N Sports.
He has written an autobiography, released in 2000, entitled The Goose is Loose (Ballantine: New York).
His son, Todd, is a professional baseball player who has played for the
Gossage coached the American League team in the Taco Bell All-Star Legends & Celebrity Softball Game in Anaheim, California on July 12, 2010.[29]
At the Hall of Fame induction in 2008, Gossage expressed gratitude to a number of baseball people who had helped him through his career, and several times described his Hall of Fame week experience as "amazing".[30] The inductions included Dick Williams, his manager at San Diego. After the ceremonies, the two of them sat together for an ESPN interview on the podium, taking audience questions and gently ribbing each other, especially about the upper-deck home run Kirk Gibson hit off Gossage in Game 5 of the 1984 World Series.
The Yankees honored Gossage with a plaque in Monument Park on June 22, 2014.[31]
In his retirement Gossage has expressed support of former US President
See also
References
- ^ "Chat: Chat with former pitcher Goose Gossage – SportsNation". ESPN. Retrieved 2014-04-14.
- ^ "Sarasota Herald-Tribune - Google News Archive Search". news.google.com.
- ^ September 3, 1978 Yankees box score: https://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/NYA/NYA197809030.shtml
- ^ Sept 4, 1978 newspaper article https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=8IEyAAAAIBAJ&sjid=rOYFAAAAIBAJ&dq=gossage&pg=5397%2C402722
- ISBN 0-553-07184-X.
- Milwaukee Journal. Associated Press. 16 June 1979. Archived from the originalon 23 April 2020. Retrieved 18 October 2011.
- ^ "Famers on the Fringe". ESPN.com. 20 December 2006. Retrieved 2008-08-01.
- ^ "Gainesville Sun - Google News Archive Search". news.google.com.
- ISBN 978-1-55365-507-7
- ^ Mitchell, Fred (1988-02-13). "Cubs Deal Moreland For Gossage – Chicago Tribune". Articles.chicagotribune.com. Retrieved 2014-04-14.
- ^ "The feared fastball is gone, and so is 'Goose' Gossage". The Daily News. AP. 29 March 1989. Retrieved 27 December 2014.
- ^ a b Alfonso L.; Tusa C. (27 October 2011). "Rich Gossage-SABR". SABR Baseball Biography Project. Society for American Baseball Research. Retrieved 27 December 2014.
After one year in Chicago, "experimenting with off-speed pitches to compensate for a diminished fastball," he was released. The 1989 season featured a stop with the San Francisco Giants and a brief return to the Yankees.
- ^ Philip, Tom (April 30, 2011). "Blown saves are overblown". ESPN.com. Archived from the original on August 8, 2011.
- ISBN 978-1-60078-312-8.
- ^ Schechter, Gabriel (March 21, 2006). "Top Relievers in Trouble". National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum. Archived from the original on June 8, 2007.
- ^ Jenkins, Chris (September 25, 2006). "Where's the fire?". The San Diego Union-Tribune. Archived from the original on June 28, 2011.
- ^ a b Caple, Jim (August 5, 2008). "The most overrated position in sports". ESPN.com. Archived from the original on June 29, 2011. Retrieved March 23, 2017.
- ^ Zimniuch 2010, pp.xx,81
- ^ Schecter, Gabriel (January 18, 2006). "The Evolution of the Closer". National Baseball Hall of Fame. Archived from the original on June 8, 2007.
Sutter and Gossage had more saves where they logged at least two innings than saves where they pitched an inning or less.
- ISBN 978-0-465-00547-5. Retrieved February 23, 2011.
- Daily News. Retrieved December 2, 2011.
- ISBN 978-0-06-200598-4.
- ^ Zimniuch 2010, p. 97
- ^ "The Official Site of The New York Yankees: News: Goose not a fan of Joba's celebrations". MLB.com. Retrieved 2008-09-04.
- ^ Kaplan, Jim (September 29, 1980). "He's The Golden Goose". Sports Illustrated. New York, NY: Time Inc.
- ISBN 978-1-4165-3439-6 – via Google Books.
- ^ Goldsmith, Tamera. "Photo, Sign, Gossage Youth Sports Complex". Photobucket. Seattle, WA: Photobucket Corporation. Retrieved May 2, 2021.
- ^ "07082009.jpg Photo by TameraGoldsmith | Photobucket". Media.photobucket.com. Retrieved 2014-04-14.
- ^ "Photos: MLB stars and celebrities at play at Angels Stadium - Las Vegas Sun Newspaper". www.lasvegassun.com.
- ^ "'Storybook career' leads Goose to Hall | MLB.com: News". Mlb.mlb.com. 2014-03-27. Retrieved 2014-04-14.
- ^ "Yankees to honor Joe Torre, Rich "Goose" Gossage, Tino Martinez, and Paul O'Neill in 2014 with plaques in Monument Park; Torre's uniform no. 6 to also be retired: Ceremonies are part of a recognition series that will include Bernie Williams in 2015". MLB.com (Press release). May 8, 2014. Retrieved May 8, 2014.[permanent dead link]
- ^ "Yankees' Goose Gossage defends Curt Schilling, Donald Trump in revealing Q & A". 29 January 2021.
- ^ "Yankees great Goose Gossage prays bleeping liberals 'go off the cliff' for attacking President Trump in epic rant". 15 April 2020.
External links
- Goose Gossage at the Baseball Hall of Fame
- Career statistics and player information from MLB, or ESPN, or Baseball Reference, or Fangraphs, or Baseball Reference (Minors), or Retrosheet
- Goose Gossage at the SABR Baseball Biography Project
- Official website