"Nobody could tell me how the role of the relief pitcher changed because I did all the jobs," Gossage said. "The closers today are so dominant in that role that people kind of forgot what we used to do, the number of innings that we pitched, the jams we used to come into. Now, it takes three guys to do what we used to do. We were kind of abused."I cut him some slack on this back when he was being unfairly excluded from the Hall, but can someone please tell Gossage that he's in already and that he can stop the fogeyish lobbying?
Tuesday, May 13, 2008
Back in MY day . . .
The Goose, quoted as he toured Cooperstown for the first time as a Hall of Famer:
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5 comments:
CC: you stopped reading the article too soon. You missed a great sidestory about a pitcher retelling a story about an intentional drilling and it's execution.
I should have checked here first before posting something from the same article but I loved his story about drilling Gallaraga better.
I'm not sure what's better: his story about deciding to hit a batter, the twisted joy he derives out of executing it perfectly, or the fact that he noted that he "saved four pitches" by doing so. Either way, I love it.
Someone tell Goose you only save 3 pitches by hitting a batter. I'm just saying.
Cmon, someone's got to take over for Bob Feller
What does he mean when he says that "people kind of forgot what we used to do?" NO ONE HAS FORGOTTEN. It's in every single Gossage-related article and interview that's been given for the past twenty years. It was talked about when Eck was inducted and when Sutter was inducted. Now, maybe some younger baseball fans don't REALIZE that closers used to routinely work more than an inning at a time, but if they are paying attention to ANY broadcast with a player from the 70s or 80s in the booth, they've heard this countless times by now. I'm glad Goose is in the HOF, he deserves it, but I'm sick of him (and others) assuming that baseball fans have no memory. I remember you playing in your 1000th game, Goose. It was your last victory, too, pitching for Seattle against the Angels. You struck out Tim Salmon, I believe. See? And I remember you were a starter one year, and yes, I remember how you and Fingers used to come in for more than one inning at a time!
Gossage was also quoted blabbing about Joba's mound celebrations today. Some nonsense about that not being okay back in his day and how veterans need to "pass the torch."
The only outspoken former greats I've ever heard that had any sense of perspective were Buck O'Neill and Ted Williams. It's just so painfully stupid and crusty to appeal to tradition as the arbiter in all matters baseball decorum-related. How's this for a thought: some things people used to do were dumb and that's why they aren't done anymore?
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