Here’s some long-overdue good news: Baseball writers last week elected former Yankee relief pitcher Richard “Goose” Gossage to the Hall of Fame at Cooperstown.
What took them so long?
Gossage intimidated batters with his icy glare, then overpowered them with a merciless fastball – in the process helping to transform the game.
He spent the prime of his career in New York, pitching for the Yankees from 1978 to 1983 (and again, briefly, in 1989). In total, he notched 310 regular-season saves, nine All-Star appearances and one World Series ring in 22 years in the majors – an impressive résumé.
Yet he had to wait fully nine years for Hall of Fame recognition, thanks largely to the voters’ traditional underappreciation of relief pitchers.
Gossage began pitching in an era when starters dreaded being relegated to the bullpen – and long before closers became one-inning specialists. Of his 310 saves, fully 52 came in outings of morethan two innings. (Current Yankee fireman Mariano Rivera, who eclipses Gossage in overall saves, has only one such effort.)
By the time he retired, the specialty-reliever era was well under way; in no small measure, he had led the way.
No question, then, that Gossage deserves the honor – both for his remarkable career and his lasting contribution to the game.
Well done, Goose.