I will be critical of myself because usually I don’t believe in debating too much over candidates – either someone is a Hall of Famer or they are not. The cases of Goose Gossage and Jim Rice (especially Goose) are a little different.

OK – I’ve read Tom Verducci’s article (I respect him). And the case of Goose Gossage is very difficult and hard for me to evaluate properly as a Yankee fan. It oftentimes comes down to unusual things that tip the scales. Here are some numbers I was talking about that make me concerned.

Goose’s postseason stats that concern me a little:

77 ALCS – 4.50 era, 4 IP, 2 R
80 ALCS – 54.00 era, .3 IP, 2 R
84 NLCS – 4.50 era, 4 IP, 2 R
84 WS – 13.50 era, 2.7 IP, 4 R

Total IP – 31.3

He had 5 dominant years: 77, 78, 80, 81 and 82 (79 he was hurt – Ron Davis was the closer for part of the season).

For a position traditionally not treated well (closers) because there are only 4 of them in the HOF it’s tough to put someone in who doesn’t have that extraordinary thing on their resume. I give Goose credit for also being the best closer in the AL for a period (77-82) but does that have to do with the fact that closers weren’t an accepted thing in baseball at that time? For me, that’s the difficult thing to evaluate. Verducci brought up Tony Perez and how that makes it easier for McGriff and other players of that type. Tony Perez was the elite run producer in the NL during the 1970’s. Name the other dominant run producer in the NL during the 1970’s. McGriff was not dominant relative to his era.

With regard to Rice. He was a feared hitter to be sure in the AL. I’ve looked at the numbers and in addition to just dropping off at the end – he’s got another problem I haven’t heard anyone talk about. I’ve identified 4 seasons in Rice’s prime where he was a very ordinary hitter. Take a look at 1976 – .282 25 HR, 85 RBI; 1980 – .294, 24 HR, 86 RBI; 1981 – .284, 17 HR, 62 RBI (108 games); 1982 – .309, 24 HR, 97 RBI. 1982 is pretty good, not great. The others are very average for your star offensive player in the prime years of his career. Not the stuff of legends. He was a very good player to be sure, but I think I am swayed against him.

A quick word on Goose vs. Rivera. I read that Jayson Stark of ESPN said that Goose was more dominant than Mariano Rivera – what is he smoking?

Here are Mo’s post- season numbers: 111.7 IP and an era of 0.81! He has over three times the number of innings pitched than Gossage and an era way below. No, Rivera may not just be the best closer ever, but he might be one of the 20 or 25 greatest pitchers ever. But that’s another story.

I vote “No” on both, but I readily admit that it is tough for me to evaluate Goose and if he does gain election, I will not be offended by his inclusion because he was the dominant closer of his era in the American League.