"Even during an off year, this overpowering reliever managed 30 saves to finish second in the league to the Royals' Dan Quisenberry (35). No telling how many more Goose would have piled up had it not been for his sore arm; he pitched only three times from August 23 to the end of the season. During one stretch of 21 games, he allowed earned runs in only two games. Goose never looses any speed off his blazing fastball.
Born in Colorado Springs, Colorado, he majored in forestry at Colorado State. He came up with the White Sox and was unsuccessful as a starter (9-17 in 1976). The Yankees' top selection in the 1977 re-entry draft after he pitched one season for the Pirates, Goose has a career total of 174 saves."
-Ken Nigro, The Complete Handbook of Baseball, 1983 Edition
"Awesome ...
That's the best way to describe Goose when he cranks up his whirling delivery and lets loose with one of his blazing fastballs.
Yankees fans have come to depend on The Great Gossage for his rally-snuffing heroics, and last season he appeared in 90 innings and compiled a 4-5 record and a 2.33 ERA, numbers which indicate just how valuable he is to the Yankees.
Now 31 years old, Gossage is the yardstick used to compare baseball's finest in his chosen specialty- saves. He racked up 30 in '82, tops on the Yankee staff. Entering this season, he's notched an amazing 184 saves in his 11-year major league career.
By the time the seventh, eighth or ninth inning rolls around, the bullpen cart delivers Goose for another of his spine-tingling dates with destiny.
And when Goose is on target, he's virtually unhittable ... leaving a trail of 'goose eggs' in his wake. Zero, zip, nada.
Simply awesome."
-The New York Yankees Official 1983 Yearbook
"Named to his seventh major league All-Star team in '82, Gossage has been an All-Star in four of his five seasons with the Yankees. He recorded 30 saves in 39 save situations and was the toughest Yankee pitcher to hit, allowing only 63 hits in 322 at-bats for a .196 average. His 30 saves ranked as the third most in a season by a Yankee reliever. The Yankees suffer when Gossage is injured- he did not pitch from August 24 through September 20, a period during which the Yankees suffered their longest losing streak (nine games) of the season.
He was the Yankees' No. 1 selection in the 1977 Re-Entry Draft. The Yankees followed scout Birdie Tebbetts' recommendation that they let no contending AL club get him. Gossage has established himself as the top reliever in baseball and was on the mound to finish the Yankees' last five deciding game victories: the 1978 playoff win at Boston (his greatest thrill in baseball), the '78 ALCS clincher against Kansas City, the '78 World Series clincher in Los Angeles, the 1981 Division Series clincher against Milwaukee and the '81 ALCS clincher in Oakland.
In '78 Goose was the Sporting News Fireman of the Year and Rolaids Relief Man of the Year. On September 3 of that year he struck out the side against Seattle on 11 pitches with none out in the ninth, the tying run on third and the winning run on second. 1979 was semi-disastrous, with Goose missing 12 weeks with a tear of the ulnar collateral ligament of the metacarpal-phalangeal joint of the right thumb suffered in a clubhouse scuffle with Cliff Johnson on April 19. He didn't pitch again until July 12.
In 1980, Goose finished third in the AL MVP balloting behind George Brett and Reggie Jackson. He also finished third in the Cy Young voting behind Steve Stone and Mike Norris and was named the relief pitcher on the UPI AL All-Star team. He retired 28 consecutive batters in a seven-game stretch from August 26 to September 10 of 1980.
Gossage suffered through an injury marked season in 1981 but had a super first half, earning his sixth All-Star Game selection. He finished the first half with a 2-1 record, 17 saves and an 0.56 ERA, his 17 saves coming in 18 possible save situations, though he missed most of the second half. Goose was healthy for the playoffs, however, appearing in eight games, saving six and pitching 14.1 innings with 15 strikeouts and no earned runs for a 0.00 ERA.
The Midwest League Player of the Year in 1971 at Appleton, Goose was AL Fireman on the Year in 1975. He struck out eight of 11 Dodgers he faced in a game on May 19, 1977.
Gossage grew up a Yankee and Mickey Mantle fan, was captain of his basketball team and is a member of the Hall of Fame at Wasson High (Colorado Springs, CO). He played against Cullen Bryant of the Los Angeles Rams. Gossage attended Colorado State where he majored in forestry.
Goose enjoys hunting, fishing, golf and racquetball."
-1983 New York Yankees Information Guide
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