The Hall of Fame

Bruce Sutter: very good pitcher
Goose Gossage: much better pitcher

And his nickname is Goose. The man belongs in the Hall of Fame.

I was going to write all about this, with stats and arguments and stuff, but The Pinstriped Bible has already done so, far better than I would have.

For those of you too busy to click through the link, I call out a single sentence, which, in itself, says a lot about Gossage and about the usage of relievers before the days of hyperspecialization:

“Twice during the 1978 season, Yankees managers called on Gossage in the second inning and let him finish the game.”

Note that this post says nothing about the two best eligible players not currently in the Hall: Ron Santo and Bert Blyleven. May the Veteran’s Committee someday do the right thing and put them in.