Goose Down? Not This Time!
Goose Gossage became only the fifth relief pitcher elected to the Hall of Fame, earning baseball’s highest honor Tuesday on his ninth try on the ballot.
Gossage, who fell short by 21 votes last year, joins Hoyt Wilhelm (1985), Rollie Fingers (1992), Dennis Eckersley (2004) and Bruce Sutter (2006) in Cooperstown’s bullpen.
Known for his overpowering fastball, fiery temperament and bushy mustache, the Goose received 466 of 543 votes (85.8 percent) from 10-year members of the Baseball Writers’ Association of America.
Gossage was a nine-time All-Star who pitched for nine major league teams from 1972-94 and had 310 saves — 52 of them in which he got seven outs or more. — NY Times
Congratulations, Goose! ‘Bout time the writers acknowledged the crucial role of the closer.
January 8th, 2008 at 3:00 pm
Ditto that, Steve! The down side, though, is they passed on Andre Dawson again. Fools and damn fools.
January 8th, 2008 at 3:36 pm
There is no truth to the rumor that the Marlins offered him a performance-based contract for the 2008 season. The only reason people spread these stories is I’m short and my father-in-law is cheap.
January 8th, 2008 at 3:38 pm
That’s actually TWO reasons, David. Now you’re selling yourself short.
October 28th, 2009 at 10:10 pm
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December 16th, 2009 at 10:20 pm
Thanks for taking the time to post this.