Goose Gossage

At 73 years old, Goose Gossage has this physical status:

Richard Michael Gossage (born July 5, 1951) is a retired Major League right-handed relief pitcher.

He pitched for nine different franchises during his 22-year baseball career (from 1972-1994), including stints with the New York Yankees and San Diego Padres.

The nickname "Goose" came about when a friend did not like his previous nickname "Goss" and observed he was looking like a goose when he extended his neck to read the catcher's signs while pitching.

Although Gossage is still identified as "Rich" in popular media, a baseball field named after him bears the word "rick." In the late 1970s and early 1980s, he was one of the first modern closers to be recognized, with long facial hair and a gruff demeanor to go along with his blistering fastball.

He led the American League in saves three times and was runner-up twice; by the end of the 1987 season, he ranked second in major-league career saves, trailing only Rollie Fingers, but his total number of 310 had fallen to fourth all-time.

When he retired, he ranked third in major-league games pitched (1,002), and he remains third in relief (115) and innings pitched in relief (1,556). His 1,502 strikeouts put him behind only Hoyt Wilhelm, who pitched primarily in relief.

He is also the highest blown saves (112), and he is also the highest in career (112).

He never earned over 2.62 points from 1977 to 1983, including a record of 0.77 in 1981, and third in AL voting for the MVP Award and Cy Young Award in 1980 as the Yankees claimed a division championship. Gossage captured the final out to clinch a division, league, or World Series championship seven times.

He had eight All-Star picks as a reliever before Mariano Rivera passed him in 2008; he also appeared once as a starting pitcher.

In 2008, he was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame.

He now works in television broadcasting.

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Career

In Colorado Springs, Colorado Springs, Colorado Springs, Colorado, Gossage grew up near N. Cascade Avenue. He graduated from Wasson High School in 1970, where he competed on the baseball and basketball teams and was inducted into the school's athletic "Wall of Fame." Corna Gossage, his wife, attended Wasson High School. In the ninth round of the 1970 Major League Baseball draft, the Chicago White Sox selected him.

In 1975 (26), Gossage led the American League (AL) in saves (AL). For Silvio Martinez and Richie Zisk, the White Sox traded Gossage and Terry Forster to the Pittsburgh Pirates during the 1976 season. After the 1977 season, he became a free agent and signed with the New York Yankees.

In 1978 (27) and 1980 (33), Gossage led the AL in saves. He earned the save in the Yankees' one-game playoff against the Boston Red Sox for the AL East East title, starting with one out and two men on base in the eighth inning, retaining the victory to keep the 5–4 victory. He was still on the mound five days later when the Yankees clinched the pennant in the ALCS against the Kansas City Royals, with a 2–1 lead and a runner on second base; he earned the victory by striking out Clint Hurdle and retiring Pete LaCock on fly ball. He was on the mound ten days later when the Los Angeles Dodgers captured their second straight championship, with no one out in Game 6's eighth inning; Ron Cey retired Thurman Munson to clinch the victory.

In a game vs. the Seattle Mariners on September 3, 1978, one of his most memorable performances came on September 3, 1978. With runners on second and third bases and no outs, he maintained a 4-3 lead by striking out the next three batters in 11 innings.

Reggie Jackson started joking about his inability to hit Gossage on April 19, 1979, following the loss of a Yankee to the Baltimore Orioles. Gossage told Jackson that he struck out Johnson all the time when he was showering. When Jackson relayed this information to Johnson on his return to the locker room, a confrontation between Johnson and the pitcher erupted. Gossage tore ligaments in his right thumb and missed three months of the season. It's been described as a "demoralizing blow to the team," teammate Tommy John said. Ron Guidry, the reigning Cy Young Award winner, has offered to go to the bullpen to replace him. Gossage pitched the last two innings of a 5–2 victory over the Detroit Tigers on October 4, 1980, earning his career-high 33rd save as New York clinched another division title. The Royals' George Brett of the Royals threwled a three-run homer off Gossage's right-field upper deck on October 10, leading the Royals to a three-game sweep in the AL Championship Series, since the Royals had defeated the Royals in three straight ALCS from 1976 to 1978. Brett returned to Gossage in the Bronx for the second year in a game commemorated as the "Pine Tar Game."

Gossage won all three Yankee victories against the Milwaukee Brewers in 1981, not allowing a run in 6+2/3 innings, and he was the final pitcher when the Oakland Athletics clinched the 1981 pennant. Dave Righetti's final total of 150 in 1988, during Gossage's last season with the Yankees, set a new high on sparky Lyle's career record of 141 saves. 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.

Gossage's ERA was less than 2.27 in eight of his first ten seasons as a closer. Right-handed hitters hit.211 against him in his career.

Gossage was furious with Yankees owner George Steinbrenner for meddling with the team. Steinbrenner was nicknamed "the fat man upstairs" by the Yankees' manager Billy Martin in 1982, and he disapproved of the way Yankees manager Billy Martin used him. Gossage, a former Yankee, became a free agent after the 1983 season, and he has stated that he did not resign with New York. He has a contract with the San Diego Padres. Gossage won another title in 1984, bringing the Padres to their first World Series; after San Diego had scored four runs in the seventh innings to take the lead against the Chicago Cubs, Gossage pitched the final two innings, bringing Jody Davis to a force play for the final out. After receiving messages from 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 during Game 5 of the 1984 World Series. On the second pitch, Gossage and the Padres would regret the call as Gibson homered to deep right field, clinching a World Series victory for the Tigers. In Gossage's last major-league at bat, he struck out Pete Rose on August 17, 1986.

The Padres traded Gossage and Ray Hayward to the Cubs for Keith Moreland and Mike Brumley before the 1988 season. In a 7–4 victory over the Philadelphia Phillies on August 6, 1988, Gossage became the second pitcher to record 300 saves in a 7–4 victory over the Philadelphia Phillies, with two men out and two others injured, as well as retiring Phil Bradley on a popup to second baseman Ryne Sandberg. He was signed by the Cubs in March 1989 and signed with the San Francisco Giants in April. In August, the Yankees selected Gossage off waivers. In 1990, he pitched for the Fukuoka Daiel Hawks of Nippon Professional Baseball.

Gossage made his Texas Rangers debut in 1991. On July 23, 1991, he made a statistical coincidence when he made his 308th career save to save Nolan Ryan's 308th victory. In 1992 and 1993, Gossage spent one-year with the Oakland Athletics to pitch.

Gossage was a member of the Seattle Mariners in the 1994 season. Gossage became the third pitcher in major league history to appear in 1,000 games on August 4, 1994. Gossage played in the seventh inning and runners on second and third base, trailing 2–1, and trailing 2–1; he won when the Mariners scored three times in the eighth for a 4–2 victory. In the Mariners' 14-6-4 victory over the Rangers on August 8, he earned his first in more than 15 months; José Canseco flied out to left field to end the game.

Gossage made a career-best saves in 112 in total. Blown saves are "non-qualitative," according to ESPN.com, pointing out that the two career leaders—Gossage and Rollie Fingers (109) were inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame. "But you have to be a good relief pitcher to blow that many saves," Fran Zimniuch in Fireman: The Evolution of the Closer in Baseball. [Gossage] saved many more than he did not save," he said. More than half of Gossage's blown saves came in difficult situations, with the tiebreaker on base when the pitcher began. He started the game in the sixth or seventh innings in almost half of those blown tough saves. Multiple-inning outings give a reliever more chances to win, as he does not need to get out of the initial situation but also pitch additional innings in which he might lose the lead.

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