Rich Gossage
The Goose didn't just close games — he terrorized hitters for multiple innings at a time. Gossage's 1977 season remains one of the most dominant relief performances ever, posting a 1.62 ERA while routinely throwing two or three innings per appearance. His ERA+ of 246 that year ranks among the best single seasons by any pitcher, starter or reliever.
What separated Gossage from modern closers was his workload and fearlessness. Over his 22-year career, he averaged nearly two innings per appearance and faced the heart of opposing lineups regularly. That 149 career ERA+ speaks to sustained excellence across multiple decades and teams.
The Hall of Famer's intimidating presence on the mound, combined with a fastball that could reach the mid-90s in an era when that was rare, made him the prototype for the modern power closer. His 310 career saves don't tell the full story — Gossage was often the best pitcher on his team, regardless of inning.
Career · Hitting
22 seasons| Year | Team | G | AB | HR | RBI | AVG | OPS | OPS+ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1972 | CWS | 36 | 16 | 0 | 0 | .000 | .000 | 0 |
| 1973 | CWS | 21 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — |
| 1974 | CWS | 39 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — |
| 1975 | CWS | 62 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — |
| 1976 | CWS | 31 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — |
| 1977 | PIT | 72 | 23 | 0 | 2 | .217 | .511 | 70 |
| 1978 | NYY | 63 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — |
| 1979 | NYY | 36 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — |
| 1980 | NYY | 64 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — |
| 1981 | NYY | 32 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — |
| 1982 | NYY | 56 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — |
| 1983 | NYY | 57 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — |
| 1984 | SD | 62 | 22 | 0 | 0 | .182 | .399 | 56 |
| 1985 | SD | 50 | 11 | 0 | 0 | .000 | .154 | 22 |
| 1986 | SD | 45 | 7 | 0 | 0 | .000 | .000 | 0 |
| 1987 | SD | 40 | 4 | 0 | 0 | .000 | .000 | 0 |
| 1988 | CHC | 46 | 1 | 0 | 0 | .000 | .000 | 0 |
| 1989 | SF | 42 | 1 | 0 | 0 | .000 | .000 | 0 |
| 1991 | TEX | 44 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — |
| 1992 | ATH | 30 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — |
| 1993 | ATH | 39 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — |
| 1994 | SEA | 36 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — |
| Career | 1003 | 85 | 0 | 2 | .106 | — | — | |
Career · Pitching
22 seasons| Year | Team | G | IP | W | L | ERA | ERA+ | SO | WHIP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1972 | CWS | 36 | 80.0 | 7 | 1 | 4.28 | 76 | 57 | 1.450 |
| 1973 | CWS | 20 | 49.7 | 0 | 4 | 7.43 | 50 | 33 | 1.893 |
| 1974 | CWS | 39 | 89.3 | 4 | 6 | 4.13 | 88 | 64 | 1.556 |
| 1975 | CWS | 62 | 141.7 | 9 | 8 | 1.84 | 201 | 130 | 1.193 |
| 1976 | CWS | 31 | 224.0 | 9 | 17 | 3.94 | 89 | 135 | 1.357 |
| 1977 | PIT | 72 | 133.0 | 11 | 9 | 1.62 | 246 | 151 | 0.955 |
| 1978 | NYY | 63 | 134.3 | 10 | 11 | 2.01 | 183 | 122 | 1.087 |
| 1979 | NYY | 36 | 58.3 | 5 | 3 | 2.62 | 152 | 41 | 1.149 |
| 1980 | NYY | 64 | 99.0 | 6 | 2 | 2.27 | 169 | 103 | 1.121 |
| 1981 | NYY | 32 | 46.7 | 3 | 2 | 0.77 | 465 | 48 | 0.771 |
| 1982 | NYY | 56 | 93.0 | 4 | 5 | 2.23 | 173 | 102 | 0.978 |
| 1983 | NYY | 57 | 87.3 | 13 | 5 | 2.27 | 170 | 90 | 1.225 |
| 1984 | SD | 62 | 102.3 | 10 | 6 | 2.90 | 131 | 84 | 1.085 |
| 1985 | SD | 50 | 79.0 | 5 | 3 | 1.82 | 214 | 52 | 1.025 |
| 1986 | SD | 45 | 64.7 | 5 | 7 | 4.45 | 89 | 63 | 1.376 |
| 1987 | SD | 40 | 52.0 | 5 | 4 | 3.12 | 137 | 44 | 1.269 |
| 1988 | CHC | 46 | 43.7 | 4 | 4 | 4.33 | 86 | 30 | 1.489 |
| 1989 | SF | 42 | 58.0 | 3 | 1 | 2.95 | 125 | 30 | 1.310 |
| 1991 | TEX | 44 | 40.3 | 4 | 2 | 3.57 | 110 | 28 | 1.215 |
| 1992 | ATH | 30 | 38.0 | 0 | 2 | 2.84 | 132 | 26 | 1.342 |
| 1993 | ATH | 39 | 47.7 | 4 | 5 | 4.53 | 92 | 40 | 1.573 |
| 1994 | SEA | 36 | 47.3 | 3 | 0 | 4.18 | 108 | 29 | 1.246 |
| Career | 1002 | 1809.3 | 124 | 107 | — | — | 1502 | — | |
Matchups, projections, comps — grounded in Lahman, Retrosheet, and Statcast.