My First Cards

Rich Gossage didn't seem all that special in the beginning. His first three seasons, he posted a 4.93 ERA which was good for a pithy 73 ERA+ and a 1.594 WHIP.

Then something happened. From April 20 through June 1, 1975, he went a stretch of 38 2/3 IP without allowing an earned run. Batters had a mere .222 OBP facing him during that streak. He made his first All-Star appearance that summer, and ended up leading the American League in saves (26) on the strength of a 1.84 ERA. His White Sox had a .613 winning percentage with him in the game, but were a terrible .374 without him.

The ChiSox tried to turn him into a starter in '76, which didn't work out as well as they hoped, but he was good enough to earn a spot on the All-Star team for the 2nd season in a row before being traded to the Pirates during the winter.

Once in Pittsburgh, he starred out of the bullpen again, finishing 55 games and posting a 1.62 ERA as he struck out 10.1 batters per 9 IP, and only walked 3.3 per 9 IP. Somehow he managed 11 wins without starting a single game.

Rich became a free agent after the season finished and that's when Steinbrenner and his obsession with winning, grabbed up Goose Gossage and the Goose didn't fail to shine under the lights of New York. He not only led the league in saves (27) and GF (55 again) in 1978, but he nailed down the infamous AL East one-game playoff in Boston.

On September 3, 1978, in one of his most dominant moments, he inherited two runners (2nd & 3rd) in a no out situation and up by just 1 run. Goose dealt with it by striking out the next three batters on just 11 pitches (2 more than the minimum). It took him 6 pitches to strike out the first two batters, and 5 more to get the third out.

Overall, his Yankee years ('78-'83) were fantastic. He was credited with 41 wins without ever starting a game, earned 150 saves, 18.1 WAR, posted a 2.10 ERA, and K'd 8.8 per 9 IP. That period includes a season I've previously mentioned, when Goose led his team in WAR for a season, a rare feat for a reliever.

In '84, he signed as a free agent with the Padres, and continued to be stellar as he helped lead the Padres to their first World Series. Unfortunately, that team just wasn't good enough to beat the Tigers. Part of that was Goose's fault for talkin' the manager into letting him throw to one more batter...but hey, even Mariano Rivera blew a save in a World Series. It happens to the best of them.

His 2nd year in San Diego was his last great season— 1.82 ERA, 25 saves, 0.1 HR per 9, and his 9th All-Star appearance. Sure, he was still good after '85, but just not the same great Gossage as in the old days, and found himself going from team to team (8 teams in his last 7 seasons), helpin' out where he could, including the Fukuoka Daiei Hawks in Japan during part of 1990.

Eventually landing in Seattle in 1994, he decided to retire once the strike was under way. In true Goose Gossage fashion though, his final appearance was a 3 inning save on August 8, 1994.