Why did Goose Gossage wait nine years for the Hall of Fame? His potty mouth.
Posted by: Richie Rich in MLB Hall of Fame
Rich “Goose” Gossage was announced as the newest member of the Baseball hall of Fame today.
An eight time All-Star as a reliever (and once as a starter), Gossage compiled a 124-107 record with 310 career saves, 1502 strikeouts, and a 3.01 ERA while mostly playing for the New York Yankees and the San Diego Padres. His 115 wins in relief is third all-time.
He was one of the first dominant closers in baseball, and would often pitch 2-3 innings rather than the one-inning specialists common in baseball today.
So why did it take nine tries for Gossage to get the Call from the Hall?
Well, sportswriters vote players into the Hall of Fame … and there’s lots of speculation that some of those writers might carry a lengthy grudge against a player who was … less than friendly with some of them.
If that’s the case, maybe they hadn’t forgotten this spectacular tirade Gossage launched at them while a Yankee
Warning: bad language not safe for work – no really, there are like 20 F-Bombs in this 70 second clip.
That is up there with Lee Elia, Earl Weaver and Tommy Lasorda.
Here’s a quick look at some highlights from Gossage’s career. Entirely from his Yankee days.
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May 28th, 2008 at 11:50 pm
[...] 3. Goose Gossage’s HOF speech can’t possibly equal the F-bomb-filled YouTube of him Home Run Derby’s got. (He also mixes in a c*cksucker — that one’s probably my favorite.) [HRD] [...]