Gossage, "Goose" (Richard M.)
Baseball
b. July 5, 1951, Colorado Springs, CO
One of the best relief pitchers in baseball during the late 1970s and early 1980s, the 6-foot, 226-pound Gossage had an intimidating look on the mound because of his size, his fierce scowl, and his cowboy-style moustache.
He entered the major leagues with the Chicago White Sox in 1972 and led the AL with 26 saves in 1975. The following season, the White Sox made him a starter, but he was only 9-17 with a 3.94 ERA and Chicago sent him to the NL's Pittsburgh Pirates in a four-player trade after the season.
After just one season in Pittsburgh, Gossage signed with the AL's New York Yankees as a free agent in 1978 and he played an important role on three division champions during the next four years.
Gossage led the league with 27 saves in 1978 and 33 in 1980. His ERA in six seasons with the Yankees ranged from a low of 0.77 in 1981 to 2.64 in 1979 and he had 150 saves over that period.
In 1984, Gossage went to the NL's San Diego as a free agent. He recorded 72 saves during the next three seasons, but he began to experience arm trouble in 1987. Although generally ineffective after that, Gossage pitched for the White Sox, San Francisco Giants, Yankees, Texas Rangers, Oakland Athletics, and Seattle Mariners for various periods of time. He spent the 1990 season with the Fukuoka Daiei Hawks in Japan. Gossage retired after appearing in 36 games, mostly in middle relief, for Seattle in 1994.