Rich Goose Gossage

The Chicago Cubs Tuesday released Rich (Goose) Gossage, one of baseball's premier relief pitchers. The club said Gossage and another pitcher, Al Nipper, were given unconditional release, trimming the team roster to 27 players. Gossage finished the 1987 season with 289 career saves, 52 behind Rollie Fingers' major league record of 341. Coming into last season, he had made 577 consecutive relief appearances.

Rich “Goose” Gossage cut an intimidating figure on the mound with his sinister-looking Fu Manchu mustache and blazing fastball, and at 61, he can still fire a few high, hard ones, as he showed after Wednesday's Hall of Fame vote, in which players from the steroid era were shut out of Cooperstown. “I'm glad nobody who is tied to performance-enhancing drugs got elected,” said Gossage, who was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2008 after going 124-107 with a 3.01 earned-run average and 310 saves from 1972 to 1994.

The San Francisco Giants, looking to bolster their bullpen, announced Friday the signing of veteran reliever Rich (Goose) Gossage to a one-year contract. Gossage, a 17-year veteran, was released by the Chicago Cubs in spring training. Last season with Chicago, he had a 4-4 record, a 4.33 earned-run average and 13 saves in 46 appearances. He has 302 career saves, more than any active player and second only to Rollie Fingers' 341 on the all-time list. His lifetime record is 110-97.

Free-agent pitchers Goose Gossage and Jim Deshaies were invited to spring training by the Oakland Athletics.

Another Padres' World Series memory was erased Friday night as they traded reliever Rich (Goose) Gossage to the Chicago Cubs in a four-player trade that brought them outfielder/third baseman Keith Moreland, who will play left field. In the deal that also included a swap of Triple-A players--Padre pitcher Ray Hayward for Cub infielder Mike Brumley--the Padres formally kicked out the old while showing their intentions to reshape with the new.

Free-agent pitchers Goose Gossage and Jim Deshaies were invited to spring training by the Oakland Athletics.

Rich “Goose” Gossage cut an intimidating figure on the mound with his sinister-looking Fu Manchu mustache and blazing fastball, and at 61, he can still fire a few high, hard ones, as he showed after Wednesday's Hall of Fame vote, in which players from the steroid era were shut out of Cooperstown. “I'm glad nobody who is tied to performance-enhancing drugs got elected,” said Gossage, who was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2008 after going 124-107 with a 3.01 earned-run average and 310 saves from 1972 to 1994.

The San Francisco Giants, looking to bolster their bullpen, announced Friday the signing of veteran reliever Rich (Goose) Gossage to a one-year contract. Gossage, a 17-year veteran, was released by the Chicago Cubs in spring training. Last season with Chicago, he had a 4-4 record, a 4.33 earned-run average and 13 saves in 46 appearances. He has 302 career saves, more than any active player and second only to Rollie Fingers' 341 on the all-time list. His lifetime record is 110-97.

The Chicago Cubs Tuesday released Rich (Goose) Gossage, one of baseball's premier relief pitchers. The club said Gossage and another pitcher, Al Nipper, were given unconditional release, trimming the team roster to 27 players. Gossage finished the 1987 season with 289 career saves, 52 behind Rollie Fingers' major league record of 341. Coming into last season, he had made 577 consecutive relief appearances.

Another Padres' World Series memory was erased Friday night as they traded reliever Rich (Goose) Gossage to the Chicago Cubs in a four-player trade that brought them outfielder/third baseman Keith Moreland, who will play left field. In the deal that also included a swap of Triple-A players--Padre pitcher Ray Hayward for Cub infielder Mike Brumley--the Padres formally kicked out the old while showing their intentions to reshape with the new.

The Chicago Cubs announced today they have released Rich (Goose) Gossage, one of baseball's premier relief pitchers. The club said Gossage and another pitcher, Al Nipper, were given unconditional release, trimming the team roster to 27 players. Gossage finished the 1987 season with 289 career saves, 52 behind Rollie Fingers' major-league high of 341. Coming into the 1988 season, Gossage had 577 consecutive relief appearances.