Chapter 71.55: Goose and Rice

The Baseball Hall of Fame results are in, and I can't disagree with the selection of Rich "Goose" Gossage. I'll admit I've had my misgivings about his Hall of Fame at times, but his inclusion feels right. I'm not going to gripe about it.

That Jim Rice still isn't in, however, is a mistake. I'd like to get onto a high horse about what a travesty of justice it is, but I also understand some of the arguments against him. While he wasn't the same player in 1988 as he'd been in 1978, he was still a fearsome hitter. Still, I know of few other hitters that seemed to come through in the clutch as well as he did. And as a kid who hated the Yankees, how I loved to see Jim Rice stand in the box against one of the pitchers from the Bronx.

How appropos it would have been for Rice and Goose to enter the Hall together, a member of the Red Sox and the Yankees. Especially this coming summer -- thirty years after the exciting 1978 season. A lot of folks in the New York area forget that there was a newspaper strike back then, so there was even less news about what the teams were doing than we'd see in this Internet era. We often had to settle for the local television news updates and listen to the radio. And then there was also Pete Rose's hitting streak. Talk about an exciting baseball season, especially for a kid who was crazy for the sport!

Growing up in the New York area, I saw Goose pitch a lot and wished my Mets had someone like him (of course, those Mets teams had little need of a fireballing stopper, as they were sometimes called in those bygone days, thirty years ago -- "closer" came later when Dennis Eckersly changed everything in Tony LaRussa's bullpen.) It almost seemed unfair that the Yankees could have Sparky Lyle and Goose Gossage. Of course, Lyle was gone soon enough, languishing in Texas after the '78 season and a couple other places. Of course, looking back, the Yankees made the right decision (perish the thought!), despite Lyle entering the '78 season as the reigning Cy Young Award winner; he was in his 30s, and his career was on the decline.

Anyway, back to the Hall vote: I'm not too surprised at Tim Raines receiving 25 percent of the vote. It's a hard road ahead if he hopes to ever gain entrance. Even harder is the path for Harold Baines, who I think should be the first DH elected. Once again, he only had 5 percent. His chances are unlikely to get any better without a major shift in how baseball writers consider the designated hitter. If I can change my mind, however, surely they will eventually too. For Baines' sake, I hope it happens before another thirteen years pass.

But I congratulate Goose Gossage on being voted into the Hall of Fame. You were one of the best relievers of all time. I hope George Brett hands you a pine tar-coated bat.