The Goose Is Loose
The sight of hulking reliever Goose Gossage staring over his Fu Manchu was only a little less menacing than the high cheese he would uncork in the next motion. In 22 major-league seasons, he regularly led fellow closers in intimidation. That's why the caricature of him smiling on the cover of his autobiography is so jolting. But it's a fair reflection of what's inside.Gossage, it turns out, is a pretty genial fellow, funny and fun-loving, a clubhouse prankster as fast with an anecdote as he was with his heat. But like the extraordinary pitcher he was, he also knows how to change pace, and his out pitch inThe Goose Is Looseis his willingness to break the code of the locker room by telling tales and naming names. Some of his stories carry more sting than a fastball to the ribs. If you wonder why there was no love lost between him and Yankee skipper Billy Martin, look no further: "My first one-on-one encounter with [him] at spring training in 1978 set the tone for my disastrous debut as a Bronx Bomber. When Martin gave me an order that I refused to follow, friction surfaced immediately and never went away." The order? To bean Texas Ranger rookie Billy Sample in the opening exhibition game. Martin was adamant. "He was as vindictive as a Mafia don." Gossage was equally adamant in refusing. He wouldn't hurt another ballplayer or fight someone else's battles. Martin would never forget, but Gossage gets the last word in.Gossage is equally forthcoming in his lack of appreciation for Jose Canseco, Ricky Henderson, Bobby Valentine, and the John Birchers he played with in San Diego. On the other hand, his respect for Chuck Tanner, George Brett, Thurmon Munson, and Sparky Lyle--Gossage took the incumbent Cy Young winner's job--is clear. Still, the fun ofThe Goose Is Looseis the way Gossage goes in for the kill. If he demurred at plunking them from the mound, he has no such reservations on the page.--Jeff Silverman