Rich “Goose” Gossage’s 310 career saves put him 18th on the all-time list, but according to Goose, that one statistic doesn’t tell the whole story.
Current Yankees closer Mariano Rivera sits second all time with 526 saves — Trevor Hoffman of the Brewers is first with 591 — and is often regarded as the greatest closer ever to grace a major league mound. But according to PlayerPress.com, Gossage would have you believe that Rivera shouldn’t be considered the best of all time, just the best of his time.
"When I was inducted into the Hall of Fame, I was told that I had 53 saves with seven-plus outs," Gossage, a longtime reliever for the Yankees, said to the site. "I was told that Mariano had one and Trevor Hoffman had two. So I think that says it in a nutshell."
While the Goose stopped inches short of saying that he was the greatest closer ever, a pre-schooler could connect the dots. Gossage’s argument is one that often comes up when discussing relievers in a historical context. With the recent trend of overprotecting pitchers’ arms and so many talented players at a manager’s disposal, the game is more specialized than ever.
It used to be that guys like Gossage, Bruce Sutter and Rollie Fingers would serve as the entire bridge from the starter to the end of the game, often pitching two, three or even four innings when needed. Now, once the starter leaves, you have middle relievers, eighth-inning setup men and lefty or righty specialists ready to toe the rubber before you even get to the closer.
Less demand on the closer lessens the strain on his arm and allows him to go out and pitch more often. On the other hand, back in the early 1900s, before the era of specialists and closers, the best pitchers were sometimes thrown out there three or four times a week for nearly the entire game. Who’s to say that someone pitching with Cy Young or Walter Johnson in the early part of the century couldn’t have compared favorably to Gossage or Rivera?
Despite his gripe, Gossage was at least complimentary of Rivera, calling him the "best, current-day, modern reliever," but he was nowhere near as impressed with New York’s other closer, Francisco Rodriguez of the Mets.
The man known as K-Rod, who holds the single-season saves record with 62, drew the ire of the Hall of Famer for his postgame celebratory antics that often consist of overdramatic jumping and falling to the ground combined with pounding his chest and raising his hands to the sky.
"K-Rod is a clown," Gossage told the Web site. "I don't think there is any place for it in the game. You respect that other team."
There’s no doubt that the Goose has a love for the game of baseball, but his thoughts simply show the difference of opinion between past and present.
