Major-league baseball
set a record for strikeouts this year, in excess of 40,000, and Goose Gossage
for one is sick of it. Gossage is my
favorite loose cannon of an ex-player.
Unlike, say, Curt Schilling, Gossage doesn’t venture into the realm of
politics. The Goose’s focus is strictly
baseball, and he doesn’t like what he sees.
The HOFer says, “It
kills me. I can’t watch the game. It’s not baseball. The only thing that’s the same is the bases
are 90 feet and the mound is 60 feet, 6 inches [form the plate].” Gossage wants a return to small ball,
including bunts to thwart infield shifts.
Hmm. The onetime White
Sox fireballer also complained, “If you struck out that many times back in the
day [Gossage’s day, that is], you’re a** would be back in the minor
leagues.” Right you are, my old schooler
(provided you forget about Gorman Thomas).
And if you want to fix things, start looking at female ballplayers. They know how to bunt, they know how to go to
the opposite field, they know how to make consistent contact. Twelve-inch softball is nothing if not a
tutorial on “small ball.”
I wonder if the Goose
would agree.
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