It's hard to believe it took nine tries to get Rich "Goose" Gossage into the Hall of Fame, but what matters is that baseball finally got it right.
Gossage was the classic relief pitcher, one who *gasp* recorded more than three outs. In fact, the Goose got 125 of his saves by recording at least six outs. And for all these efforts, he's never fully been appreciated.
It's also hard to believe there are just five relief pitchers in Cooperstown, considering how much importance we now place on closers.
In addition to Gossage's 310 career saves, he picked up 124 wins in his 22-year-career, and ranks third all-time in wins in relief and innings pitched.
Having only started following baseball near the end of his career, the only memory I have is off his classic delivery. If you were to only be shown a pitcher's silhouette, you'd have a hard time finding a delivery more widely known - perhaps Hideo Nomo or Fernando Valenzuela share the same company?
Here's some highlights from Goose's induction yesterday in Cooperstown, a rather quiet ceremony before the increasing storm that will be the beginning of the 'juice-era' debates.
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