Hall of Famer Goose Gossage, former all-star Ray Lankford among Night of Memories guests

Old-school to the core, Goose Gossage rants and raves on the state of today’s once-grand old game. He is especially rankled by Mariano Rivera being a unanimous selection to the National Baseball Hall of Fame, noting that not even Hank Aaron was a unanimous choice.

In the days of Gossage and Bruce Sutter, a closer thought nothing of pitching two innings or more to nail down a victory. He sneered at this modern-day one-inning stuff.

“I’ve been asked the question a million times,” said Gossage, a nine-time All-Star. “Mariano Rivera was a unanimous pick, the only player in the (history of the) game to be a unanimous pick. He was the greatest one-inning pitcher of all time.”

Here's the contrast: Gossage pitched 1341/3 innings in 63 relief appearances for the New York Yankees in 1978. The most innings Rivera ever threw in a season was 802/3, for the Yanks in 2001.

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Named to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 2008 on his ninth try, Gossage is among the special guests at the Night of Memories youth fund-raiser on Saturday at the Meeks Fieldhouse on the University of Evansville campus. He joins five-time All-Star and 10-time Gold Glove winner Andruw Jones, plus Ray Lankford, Al Hrabosky, Aaron Barrett and Jerad Eickhoff, among others.

Gossage describes today’s reliance on analytics as the “revenge of the nerds.”

“What I do know is baseball men used to be executives,” he said. “Today you have eight to 10 relievers in a game. That’s why it takes 41/2 hours to play a game.”

He hates the overshifting by infields, wondering why nobody lays down a bunt for an easy base bit when only one guy is on that side of the infield.

“All the fundamentals are gone,” said Gossage, closer on the Yankees’ 1978 World Series championship team who finished with 310 career saves.

Snubbed by the Hall of Fame selection committee for years, relievers have gotten more recognition as time has gone on. Gossage is one of just eight relievers inducted to the Hall, joining Hoyt Wilhelm, Rollie Fingers, Dennis Eckersley, Sutter, Lee Smith, Trevor Hoffman and yes, Rivera.

More: Hall of Famer Lee Smith featured guest at Night of Memories | Engelhardt

“All I ever said is don’t compare me to a one-inning guy,” Gossage said. “It’s very simple.”

Barry Bonds and Roger Clemens are appearing on the HOF writers' ballot for the 10th and final year. Gossage said them being enshrined would send a terrible signal for today’s youth, telling them that cheating pays off.

They should come clean for the good of the game, Gossage said, noting that your numbers don’t improve as you get older (unless you're on steroids).

“That’s not the way baseball works,” he said.

Not all doom and gloom

Gossage, who said baseball taught him to control what you can control and the hell with everything else, considers himself blessed to have made the Hall and blessed to have played for 22 seasons, for nine MLB teams.

He was so excited he got light-headed when he received a phone call that he had made the Hall.

“I had to sit down,” Gossage said. “Jim Rice had to wait 14 years. Some of them have died before they get in, which is heartbreaking.”

It was something similar to his experience when Chicago White Sox manager Chuck Tanner told him he was going North with the parent club after spring training in 1972.

“I’m in the big leagues," he said, in wonderment at the memory. "I can’t believe it. I won a world championship. I can’t imagine playing all those years. ”

Gossage came from humble beginnings, as the fifth of six children living in a one-bedroom house in Colorado Springs, Colorado.

“We couldn’t rub two nickels together," Goose said. My dad (Jake) didn’t like to work. He was born 100 years too late. He should’ve been a mountain man. I like Colorado. It’s one of the greatest outdoor places in the world.”

His father, who died when Goose was a junior in high school, was his biggest fan.

“He had a great arm when he was younger,” Goose said.

As he was growing up, his father kept telling me one day he would pitch in the big leagues.

“I said, ‘Dad, please don’t say that,’’’ Goose said.

But his dad’s confidence in his son and optimism proved prophetic. His whole family was made up of Yankee fans -- Mickey Mantle was his idol -- and he’s still amazed that he was able to wear the pinstripes.

“It’s one of those things you dream about,” Gossage said.

So outspoken against today’s statistical-driven approach to the game at the expense of “baseball men,” Gossage lost his job with the Yankees a few years ago after criticizing general manager Brian Cashman’s reliance on analytics.

"They’re not even baseball people," Gossage said. "If if doesn’t come out of the computer (it doesn't matter). George Steinbrenner is rolling over in his grave. A lot of great baseball men couldn’t recognize today’s game.”

Is Ray Lankford the most underrated Cardinal?

Ray Lankford had the unenviable task of replacing Willie McGee, a fan favorite who won two batting titles (.353 in 1985 and .335 in 1990) and earned National League Most Valuable Player honors (in '85) in center field for the St. Louis Cardinals.

"Willie is such a classy guy," said Lankford, who started in center for the National League in the 1997 All-Star Game. "Filling his shoes was a lot of pressure. He said, 'Young blood, I'll go over to right field."'

More: Former teammates McGee, Mattingly rejoin forces at charity event | Engelhardt

McGee took him under his wing.

"Willie said, 'If you hustle, people will love you,''' Lankford said. "When I was young, I didn't speak up a lot. I was kind of quiet. I played the game hard and let my play speak for itself."

Lankford came in at the tail end of the "Whiteyball” era in which the Cardinals won a World Series in 1982 and also advanced to the Series in ’85 and ’87. He was vilified for striking out too much, long before the current era in which the powers that be simply don't care about whiffs.

He was the only player in franchise history to post five seasons with at least 20 home runs and 20 stolen bases. In fact, Lankford just might be the most underrated position player in franchise history, according to former St. Louis Post-Dispatch columnist Bernie Miklasz. And if Lankford isn't the most underrated, then he's in the photo. (That "photo" line, which Miklasz adores, was a favorite expression used by the late, great, legendary Los Angeles sports columnist Jim Murray).

Lankford's hitting in the cleanup spot behind Mark McGwire helped spur "Big Mac" to a then-record 70 home runs in 1998.

"It was unbelievable," Lankford said. "I had the best seat in the house. Mark is a great guy."

He said McGwire's ability to deal with all the adulation along with the controversy regarding steroids was amazing.

Hall of Fame manager Tony La Russa doesn’t suffer fools lightly and something should be said for him welcoming Lankford back to St. Louis for his final season in 2004 after spending three years in San Diego. He gained a ring for helping spark the Cardinals to the '04 World Series, but was not on the postseason roster because he was out with an injured wrist.

Lankford played with and against two players with area ties, Andy Benes and Scott Rolen.

"I got Andy a few times, but he had the upper hand against me," Lankford said. "He was a dominating power pitcher at that time in his San Diego years. Andy was a great guy to play with."

He said Rolen was a quiet guy with a dry sense of humor and a tremendous work ethic.

After a tough time in Philadelphia, Rolen, like many players, fell in love with St. Louis.

"If you play hard and work hard, they'll love you," Lankford said.

Gossage wasn’t sure if he faced Lankford in spring training or in the regular season.

“He was a helluva hitter,” Gossage said. “He was a good player, man.”

Lankford was good enough to be inducted into the Cardinals Hall of Fame in 2018, along with Coleman.

"Vince is a funny guy and a talented player," Lankford said. "When I came up, Vince Coleman and Willie McGee were like Clydesdales to me. Bigger than life."

Contact Gordon Engelhardt by email at gordon.engelhardt@courierpress.com and follow him on Twitter @EngGordon.

NIGHT OF MEMORIES

What: Charity youth fundraiser includes special guests Goose Gossage and Andruw Jones. Other guests include Ray Lankford, Al Hrabosky, Jerad Eickhoff, Aaron Barrett, Colson Montgomery and Elijah Dunham.

Where: Carson Center/Meeks Family Fieldhouse, University of Evansville.

When: Autographs from 3:30 to 5:30 p.m.; doors to the main event open for guests 21 and over only at 5.

Tickets: $25, can be purchased at any area high school athletic office or any Papa Murphy's Pizza location. Can also be purchased through hotstoveleague.org. Children can attend the autograph event for free but must be accompanied by a paying adult.

This article originally appeared on Evansville Courier & Press: Goose Gossage, Andruw Jones, Ray Lankford coming to Night of Memories