Letting The Goose Loose On Cooperstown

Having grown up with baseball in the 1970s, I have a strong appreciation for what a great relief ace can do when his talents are pushed to the limit. We call them “closers” today, but back in the day, “relief aces” often came into games in the seventh or eighth inning, and often with runners on base. They weren’t protected—or babied—the way that most closers are in the contemporary game. From 1978 to 1983, I was privileged to watch Goose Gossage up close and personal, as he simply dominated games for the Yankees from the seventh inning until their conclusion. Given how difficult it can be to register those final nine outs, the importance of Gossage to two different World Series teams became readily apparent. Furthermore, the inclusion of such relief aces in a place like the Hall of Fame became a necessity, as the burgeoning responsibility of relievers evolved throughout the 1970s and eighties. How can great relief aces, who play such a determining role over the final two to three innings of so many one and two-run games, possibly be excluded from representation in Cooperstown?
So it is with more than some small degree of satisfaction that I heard Hall of Fame president Dale Petroskey announce that The Goose had finally earned election to the Hall—after eight failed attempts. I expected Gossage would finally receive the Cooperstown call in his ninth year of eligibility; the announcement that he had earned nearly 86 per cent of the vote nearly floored me. That represented a 14 per cent jump from last year’s tally, an almost unheard-of increase for a player in the year that he finally wins approval from the Baseball Writers Association of America.

Simply put, the Hall of Fame is a stronger place with a pitcher like Gossage. Then there are the peripherals. Harold Reynolds, a contemporary of The Goose, has already praised Gossage as being the kind of player eager to make minority teammates feel welcome in the clubhouse. Some white athletes remain aloof to black and Latino teammates, showing neither acceptance nor rejection of their presence in the game. That was not the case with Gossage, who was a well-liked teammate throughout his career. And then there is Goose’s colorful personality. Quick to the temper but always with a sense of humor about things, The Goose will state clearly how he feels. He’ll champion the causes of other Hall of Fame candidates he feels are worthy. Anything but corporate, Gossage will bring some homespun honesty and old-fashioned flair to the Hall’s membership. And that’s a very good thing.

While I’m pleased about Gossage’s election, I’m disappointed by the showings of others. Jim Rice picked up seven percentage points, but at 72 per cent, still fell short of election. History dictates that Rice will make it; anyone who has picked up at least 71 per cent of the vote has eventually been put in by the writers. But not so fast with Rice. He has only one year of eligibility remaining, and that happens to coincide with Rickey Henderson’s first appearance on the ballot. Though it’s not a logical thing to do, some writers will give Henderson their vote while at the same time taking away their vote from Rice. So it’s no slam dunk that Rice will make it in 2009; the margin figures to be very close, within two percentage points of 75 per cent on either side of the fence…

Bert Blyleven and Andre Dawson, while still falling well short of election, saw their percentages increase astronomically. Now that “The Dutchman” and “The Hawk” are both in the 6o to 65 per cent range, they each have a chance at election through the Baseball Writers. At one time, they both seemed like lost causes on the ballot, but their situations have now changed dramatically. Blyleven’s case is particularly heartening. He’s finally starting to get some credit for all of those 1-0 and 2-1 losses, along with terrific postseason performances in 1979 and 1987…

I thought Tim Raines would fare poorly in his first year on the ballot—but not this poorly. “The Rock” checked in at 24 per cent, a total that should embarrass the Baseball Writers. Raines is not only an obvious Hall of Famer based on his four-tool talents, his on-base percentage, and his game-changing speed, but he was also a better player than Tony Gwynn, who was regarded as an automatic first-time selection. Raines had more speed and power than Gwynn, all while getting on base at nearly an identical rate for his career. Internet analysts will have to educate the mainstream writers about Raines just like they have in recent years with Blyleven. Otherwise, Raines will find the climb to 75 per cent nearly impossible…

Finally, we saw the writers play their usual games with the back end of the ballot, giving ridiculous Hall of Fame votes to such non-worthy candidates as Shawon Dunston and Todd Stottlemyre. Ultimately, such “joke” votes have no effect on the outcome of the election, but they serve only to show that some writers don’t take the balloting seriously enough. It would be nice if the Baseball Writers, at the very least, questioned those writers who placed such votes, or at the very most, disciplined them for treating the process with the same gravity as an online survey. There are hundreds of media members who would kill for an opportunity to vote for the Hall of Fame; those who have the privilege of voting should understand the substance and significance of an election for Cooperstown.