Rich Gossage’s tears over his previous exclusion from the Hall of Fame are gone, replaced by Goose bumps.
The former Yankee reliever’s dream of election into baseball’s pantheon became reality yesterday when Gossage learned he had received 86 percent of this year’s Hall of Fame vote, easily thrusting him into Cooperstown as the only candidate selected by the Baseball Writers Association of America.
Though no mention was made about which cap he will wear on his Hall of Fame plaque – that announcement will come today during a news conference in Manhattan – Gossage told The Post last weekend he would be shocked if he didn’t enter Cooperstown representing the Yankees. The final decision rests with the Hall of Fame.
“I played for the Yankees the longest and had probably the most success there of any team I played for,” said Gossage, who pitched in The Bronx from 1978-83. “I think everyone pretty much identifies me as a Yankee.”
In a 22-year career that included stops with the White Sox, Pirates, Yankees, Padres, Cubs, Giants, Rangers, Athletics and Mariners, Gossage amassed 310 saves and was selected to nine All-Star teams. He joins Hoyt Wilhelm, Rollie Fingers, Dennis Eckersley and Bruce Sutter among Hall of Fame pitchers who were primarily relievers. But no reliever in the game’s history was more intimidating than Gossage, who threw high heat and added to his mystique by wearing a Fu Manchu mustache for much of his career.
Former Yankee teammate Bobby Murcer recalled yesterday “that stare, that look” Gossage had when he entered from the bullpen, often during the seventh or eighth inning in an era before the closer was just a ninth-inning specialist.
“He was like the seventh-inning guy who turned it over to the setup guy to the closer, all rolled into one,” Murcer said. “If you can find more of those guys, some of these clubs can save a lot of money in their bullpen.”
Murcer broke into song when he was asked about the confidence teammates had in Gossage.
“Turn out the lights, the party is over,” Murcer crooned.
It took Gossage until his ninth try to gain the necessary Hall of Fame vote, but the right-hander will find no sympathy from former Red Sox slugger Jim Rice, who received 72.2 percent of the vote, just missing the 75 percent threshold needed for selection. Rice, who is 0-for-14 in attempting to gain entrance to the Hall, will be removed from the BBWAA ballot if he doesn’t gain induction next year, leaving his fate to the revamped Veterans Committee.
“Jim Rice does belong in the Hall of Fame,” Gossage said. “No hitter scared me, but Jim Rice came the closest.”
Others who missed this year’s cut included Andre Dawson (65.9 percent), Bert Blyleven (61.9 percent) and suspected steroid cheat Mark McGwire (23.6 percent). It was the second straight year that McGwire received less than a quarter of the votes cast.
Dick Williams, Bowie Kuhn, Walter O’Malley, Billy Southworth and Barney Dreyfuss, all of whom were chosen by the Veterans Committee, will be enshrined into the Hall of Fame with Gossage during a July 27 ceremony.
Gossage credits Chuck Tanner, his former manager with the White Sox and Pirates, for having the smarts to use him as a reliever. In his one season as a starter (1976), Gossage went 9-17 with a 3.94 ERA with the White Sox. The following season he returned to the bullpen, and never started another game.
“[The bullpen] was the best thing that ever happened to me, and I say that all the time,” Gossage said. “I can’t even fathom having nearly the career that I had if I had been a starting pitcher.”
Gossage compared yesterday’s phone call announcing his Hall of Fame selection to getting hit in the head with a brick.
“My head just went numb,” Gossage said. “The waiting makes it sweeter than it would have been had I gone in on the first ballot.”
Gossage in focus
NAME: Richard Michael “Goose” Gossage
BIRTHDATE: July 5, 1951
BIRTHPLACE: Colorado Springs, Colo.
MAJOR-LEAGUE DEBUT: April 16, 1972
MAJOR-LEAGUE FINALE: August 8, 1994
DRAFTED: Ninth round, 1970, by the White Sox.
ALL-STAR APPEARANCES: Nine
Inside the numbers
REGULAR SEASON
SEASONS: 22
INNINGS: 18091/3
RECORD: 124-107
SAVES: 310
ERA: 3.01
POSTSEASON
SEASONS: 4
INNINGS: 311/3
RECORD: 5-3
SAVES: 8
ERA: 2.87
Hall of Fame voting
A look at this year’s results. There were 543 votes cast, and 408 were needed:
x-Goose Gossage 466 (85.8 percent), Jim Rice 392 (72.2), Andre Dawson 358 (65.9), Bert Blyleven 336 (61.9), Lee Smith 235 (43.3), Jack Morris 233 (42.9), Tommy John 158 (29.1), Tim Raines 132 (24.3), Mark McGwire 128 (23.6), Alan Trammell 99 (18.2), y-Dave Concepcion 88 (16.2), Don Mattingly 86 (15.8), Dave Parker 82 (15.1), Dale Murphy 75 (13.8), Harold Baines 28 (5.2).
By receiving fewer than 27 votes (less than 5 percent), Rod Beck 2 (0.4), Travis Fryman 2 (0.4), Robb Nen 2 (0.4), Shawon Dunston 1 (0.2), Chuck Finley 1 (0.2), David Justice 1 (0.2), Chuck Knoblauch 1 (0.2), Todd Stottlemyre 1 (0.2), Brady Anderson 0 and Jose Rijo 0 are no longer eligible for election by the BBWAA.
x-elected y-final year of eligibility for election by the BBWAA
mpuma@nypost.com