Goose bumps replaced disappointment.
Rich “Goose” Gossage, Colorado’s greatest baseball player, finally earned entrance into baseball’s Hall of Fame today after an eight-year wait. The Baseball Writer’s Association of America said he had received the required votes.
Gossage was listed on 85.8 percent of ballots (466 ballots) to win election in his ninth year on the ballot. He gained 14.6 percent over his percentage in 2007 when he finished 21 votes shy of the necessary 75 percent.
He will be inducted into the Hall on July 27 in Cooperstown, N.Y.
Gossage landed 71.2 percent of the vote a year ago. No player has come that close and not eventually received a Hall pass. He joins Hoyt Wilhelm (1985), Rollie Fingers (1992), Dennis Eckersley (2004) and Bruce Sutter (2006) as the only relief pitchers in the Hall of Fame.
“Oh my God, I’ve been elected,” said Gossage, as he took the call at 11:43 a.m. this morning. “I can’t believe this. It finally happened.”
That it has taken to this point is even harder to understand. To listen to voters and critics, Gossage’s career was diminished by his longevity. He hung on for 22 seasons, the final 12 after his days as a dominating closer were over. To some modern voters, he is remembered as a pedestrian setup man who bounced from team to team.
“It’s long overdue, Goose you deserve to be there,” commissioner Bud Selig told Gossage. The former pitcher choked back tears in his Colorado Springs living room.
“My heart was pounding waiting to hear if you got in. It’s better late than never,” Selig added.
His number of seasons misses the point of, well, his numbers. From 1975 to 1986 (save for a brief 1976 return to the starting rotation) Gossage posted arguably the best 11-season run for any reliever. He functioned as his own setup man, while evolving into the game’s premier closer. During that span with the White Sox, Pirates and Yankees, Gossage compiled 274 of his 310 career saves and posted a startling 2.21 ERA.
“It just sent shock waves through my body. It’s like an anvil was dropped on my head,” Gossage said. He received congratulatroy calls from Hall of Fame manager Dick Williams and ESPN broadcaster and former player Dave Campbell.
“It’s just hard to put into words what this all means.”
Gossage had long had urgency to get in while his mother was still alive. She passed away 15 months ago. And Gossage’s father didn’t live long enough to see his son pitch in the big leagues.
Thinking of his parents, Gosssage fought back tears today.
“Without their support, none of this would have been possible. I know they’re looking down and they’re proud.”
Not even current Yankees’ closer Mariano Rivera can top those statistics – strikeouts per nine innings, hits allowed — none of them.
What’s more, Gossage averaged 4.72 outs per save in his career and had 125 saves of at least two innings, numbers that have finally helped voters warm up to him as they dug deeper and realized he shouldn’t be compared to today’s one-inning stoppers.
But Gossage wasn’t just a exclamation point; he created expletives. One of the true tests of a great is how little the opposition wants to face him. When Gossage came to the mound — remember this was before a heavy metal soundtrack greeted every ninth-inning entrance — he brought his own guitar riff: a loud, sometimes wild fastball.
“He was absolutely the most intimidating pitcher of his time,” said former teammate Reggie Jackson. “Because of his motion, the speed that he threw the baseball, he was a mean son (of a gun). There were times that (catcher Thurman) Munson would just wave his hands and tell Goose to bring it.”
“He deserves to be in there,” said former teammate Tony Gwynn. “It’s time.”
Troy E. Renck: 303-954-1301 or trenck@denverpost.com
2008 HALL OF FAME VOTING
543 votes cast; 408 needed
Goose Gossage 466 (85.8 percent), Jim Rice 392 (72.2), Andre Dawson 358 (65.9), Bert Blyleven 336 (61.9), Lee Smith 235 (43.3), Jack Morris 233 (42.9), Tommy John 158 (29.1), Tim Raines 132 (24.3), Mark McGwire 128 (23.6), Alan Trammell 99 (18.2), y-Dave Concepcion 88 (16.2), Don Mattingly 86 (15.8), Dave Parker 82 (15.1), Dale Murphy 75 (13.8), Harold Baines 28 (5.2).
By receiving fewer than 27 votes (less than 5 percent), Rod Beck 2 (0.4), Travis Fryman 2 (0.4), Robb Nen 2 (0.4), Shawon Dunston 1 (0.2), Chuck Finley 1 (0.2), David Justice 1 (0.2), Chuck Knoblauch 1 (0.2), Todd Stottlemyre 1 (0.2), Brady Anderson 0 and Jose Rijo 0 are no longer eligible for election by the BBWAA.
