Goose Gossage Elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame

The eligible 10-year members of the Baseball Writers' Association of America have spoken, and former reliever Rich "Goose" Gossage will enter the Baseball Hall of Fame with the Class of 2008. The induction ceremony will take place on July 27 in Cooperstown, New York.

The 56-year old Gossage gained entry to the Hall on his ninth attempt, with 85.8% of the vote. He is only the fifth reliever to be elected to the Hall, joining greats Dennis Eckersley, Bruce Sutter, Rollie Fingers, and Hoyt Wilhelm in an exclusive club.

Gossage was selected by the Chicago White Sox in the ninth round of the 1970 amateur draft. He made his Major League debut on April 16, 1972 against the Kansas City Royals. He went on to play for eight additional clubs, including Pittsburgh, New York (Yankees), San Diego, Chicago (Cubs), San Francisco, Texas, Oakland and Seattle. Gossage played his final game on August 8, 1994 as a member of the Seattle Mariners.

The right-hander pitched almost exclusively in relief, and more specifically as a closer, throughout the course of his 22-year career. He posted a record of 124-107 with an ERA of 3.01 over 1,002 games, and amassed 310 career saves. He also struck out 1,502 batters while walking 732. A nine-time All-Star, his fastball intimidated many players, and helped him to victoriously close out the 1978 World Series for the New York Yankees.

Candidates need to appear on 75% of the ballots cast in order to make the Hall, and Gossage was the only player to accomplish that feat this year. Former Boston Red Sox left fielder Jim Rice missed the mark by just 16 votes. Rice has one more year of eligibility remaining before his name will no longer appear on the ballot for consideration. Provided he receives 5% of the vote, each player remains on the ballot for maximum of 15 years.