MLB: Top 20 closers in Major League Baseball history
Career Statistics:
- Games: 1,002
- Saves: 310
- Won-Loss Record: 124-107
- ERA: 3.01
- ERA+: 126
- FIP: 3.18
- WHIP: 1.232
- Innings: 1,809.1
- Strikeouts: 1,502
- Strikeout Percentage: 20.0%
- All-Star Appearances: 9
- World Series Championships: 1
- Awards: None
- Hall of Fame: 2008
There aren’t very many relief pitchers in the Baseball Hall of Fame, but Rich “Goose” Gossage made the cut in 2008.
The well-traveled Gossage played for nine different teams in 22 Major League seasons, and compiled an impressive combination of 124 wins (115 of which were earned out of the bullpen, which ranks third all-time) and 310 saves.
A ninth round pick of the Chicago White Sox in the 1970 amateur draft, Gossage made his big league debut just two years later at the age of 20. He was used primarily as a reliever in his first four seasons and led the American League in saves with 26 in 1975. Gossage shifted to a starting role the following season before being traded to the Pittsburgh Pirates.
After one sparkling All-Star season out of the bullpen for Pittsburgh, Gossage signed with the New York Yankees as a free agent. In the Bronx, Gossage excelled as one the top relievers in the game, and was among the first to be used primarily as a stopper in the eighth or ninth innings of games. In seven years with the Yankees, the hard-throwing right-hander posted a 42-28 record with 151 saves in 533 innings across 319 games. In 1978, he helped the Yankees win the World Series.
A nine-time All-Star, Gossage finished in the top six of his league’s Cy Young voting in five separate seasons and finished as high as third in MVP voting.
Next: 4. Dennis Eckersley