« on: June 18, 2008, 04:54:07 PM »
This guy rewrote all of the rules for closers. Even though he was a Yankee, I loved the guy.
Gossage anticipating Hall induction
06/18/2008 3:20 PM ET
Legendary closer excited, not nervous, about July ceremony
By Marty Noble / MLB.com
NEW YORK -- The long summer had come down to this: First and third, two out, ninth inning, a one-run lead and the storybook ending walking to the plate, prepared and equipped to undo all the Yankees had done in the previous 2 1/2 months.
If Rich Gossage had been seated, he would have squirmed in his seat. Instead, he was standing on the rubber at Fenway Park as Carl Yastrzemski brought peril to the batter's box. Gossage's brain squirmed instead; then it transported him from urban New England to rural Colorado. And the Yankees closer had a heart-to-heart with his wobbly knees.
"I starting asking myself, 'Why are you so nervous? This is supposed to be fun. What's the worst thing that can happen? If you lose, you'll be back home in Colorado tomorrow, hunting elk.'"
The elk didn't see Gossage for another month. The worst never happened. Yaz popped up.
The rest of the story is at:
http://mlb.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20080618&content_id=2954764&vkey=news_mlb&fext=.jsp&c_id=mlbI wish closers of this day and age would be more like Goose.
Logged
"Timid men prefer the calm of despotism to the tempestuous sea of Liberty." - Thomas Jefferson
"All you have to do is look straight and see the road, and when you see it, don't sit looking at it - walk!" -Ayn Rand
"Those that trust God with their safety must yet use proper means for their safety, otherwise they tempt Him, and do not trust Him. God will provide, but so must we also." - Matthew Henry, Commentary on 2 Chronicles 32, from Matthew Henry's Commentary on the Whole Bible
"These anti-gun fools are more dangerous to liberty than street criminals or foreign spies."--Theodore Haas, Dachau Survivor
Chase her.
Chase her even when she's yours.
That's the only way you'll be assured to never lose her.
