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1-03-2007 By ERIC AHLQVIST Editor Some might prefer a Goose served with some Rice, others a Hawk, and still others a Big Mac. "Goose" of course is former New York Yankees reliever Rich "Goose" Gossage, who was the top vote-getter last year among players not elected. Gossage finished 21 votes shy of the 75 percent required for election. The results of the voting will be announced Jan. 8, and the 2008 Induction Ceremony will be held July 27 on the grounds of the Clark Sports Center. One of Gossage's main rivals during his playing days was Jim Rice of the Boston Red Sox. This year is the 30th anniversary of the Red Sox's monumental 1978 late season collapse, which saw the Yankees rally from 14 games behind in August to eventually win the American League East. The Yankees and Red Sox finished the regular season in a tie that year, forcing a one-game playoff in Boston to decide the winner. Gossage pitched the final three innings to earn the save in the 5-4 New York victory. It's because of multiple inning saves like that one that many people feel Gossage deserves enshrinement. The hard-throwing right-hander with the intimidating mustache saved 310 games during his 22-year career, and many of them were multiple inning saves. In 1977, with New York, Gossage pitched 133 innings in 72 games while saving 27 games. In 1975, with the Chicago White Sox, Gossage pitched nearly 142 innings in just 62 games while earning 26 saves. When fellow reliever Bruce Sutter was elected to the Hall in 2006, he made a plug for Gossage's election. "I know he's in my Hall of Fame," said Sutter, who accumulated exactly 300 saves during his career. "He was dominant, and most of his saves were more than one inning. Those are worth a lot more than saves nowadays." Rice, the 1978 American League Most Valuable Player, hit 382 home runs and drove in over 1,450 runs during his 16- year career, most of them within a 10- year period from 1976 to 1986. He hit 46 home runs to go along with 139 RBIs in '78, and three other times hit 39 home runs in a season. Rice's former teammate and Hall of Fame catcher Carlton Fisk said during Induction Weekend last summer that Rice deserves to be elected. "For 10 years, Jim Rice was the most feared right-handed hitter in baseball," said Fisk on Saturday. "The knock on him is he didn't do it for a long enough period. I think he'll eventually get in, and to me he is very deserving." "Hawk" is former Montreal Expos and Chicago Cubs outfielder Andre "The Hawk" Dawson. Longtime Cubs second baseman and Hall of Famer Ryne Sandberg called Dawson the best he's ever played with. Dawson finished his 21- year career with 438 home runs, 1,591 RBIs and 314 stolen bases. He was also a standout outfielder with a cannon arm, but knee problems limited his mobility late in his career. In 1987, Dawson accumulated 49 home runs and 137 runs batted in, and was named the National league's MVP despite playing on a last place team. "Big Mac" is former slugger Mark McGwire, who ended his career with 583 home runs, including a then-record 70 in 1998 followed by 65 in 1999. McGwire's refusal to answer question during a Congressional hearing investigating steroids led many to believe he had been a steroid user during his career. He tearfully repeated, "I'm not here to talk about the past" when asked by members of Congress if he had taken steroids. In his first year on the ballot last year, McGwire was named on less than 25 percent of the votes. It will be interesting to see if the Mitchell Report, an investigation into steroid use by George Mitchell, which named 88 former players, will help or hurt McGwire's Hall of Fame chances. There are 11 newcomers to the 2008 ballot, including 1990 World Series MVP Jose Rijo, but none figure to earn election this year. Beside the four players already mentioned, there are 10 other holdovers from last year's ballot, bringing the total to 23 players. Writers with 10 or more consecutive years' experience make up the electorate, which must return ballots by a Dec. 31 postmark. Votes are counted jointly by the BBWAA's Jack O'Connell and Ernst & Young partner Michael DiLecce. Results will be announced Tuesday, Jan. 8, at 2 p.m. ET on the websites of the Hall of Fame (www.baseballhall.org) and the BBWAA (www.baseballwriters. org). |
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