Goose Gossage goes on epic rant ripping apart Yankees GM
In what could be the biggest understatement of 2018, Goose Gossage is not a fan of Yankees general manager Brian Cashman.
The Hall-of-Fame pitcher went on an expletive-filled rant against Cashman after the Yankees decided to not invite Gossage to spring training this season.
Gossage has served as a guest instructor for the Yankees in spring training before, but not this year. Gossage had a good relationship with George Steinbrenner, but apparently not so much with Cashman, and the former pitcher believes the GM is the one to blame for being spurned.
“[Cashman] would’ve been gone 10 years ago if George was still around,” Gossage said to the New York Daily News. “He’d have been gone when he jumped out of that f—ng airplane. Do you think he’s a good f–king baseball guy, really? He doesn’t believe in f—g coaching.
“Well, with power, is that what happens to you, you turn into a f—g a—hole? Is that it? I don’t know.”
Gossage spent seven of his 22 seasons with the Yankees and made four All-Star teams in pinstripes. He left the team on bad terms in 1983 after disapproving of the way manager Billy Martin was using him.
The 66-year-old is among many ex-players who don’t like how analytics have taken over the game. One of the reasons why Cashman parted ways with manager Joe Girardi was so he could bring in someone who relies more on stats and analytics as opposed to just the eye test.
That seems to be where the “he doesn’t believe in f—g coaching” line comes from. Two years ago, while serving as a spring training instructor with the Yankees, Gossage condemned sabermetrics and analytics in another expletive-filled rant.
“It is a joke. The game is becoming a freaking joke because of the nerds who are running it,” Gossage said. “A bunch of f—g nerds running the game.”
Gossage said he’s tried talking to Cashman before to see what the GM’s issue with him is. But Gossage said he didn’t get a response then and he’s not getting an invitation now.
It’s one thing for Gossage to blast a general manager or a front office, but it’s another to take a shot at someone who’s considered Yankees royalty: Mariano Rivera. Last year, Gossage said he was insulted to be compared to the five-time World Series champion and all-times saves leader.
“I’m not taking anything away from what Mo did, but don’t compare me to him,” Gossage said at the time. “It’s insulting. It really is.”
Gossage contends that he wasn’t a one-inning pitcher like Rivera, which is true. He routinely pitched two or three innings in relief, but that’s now how relievers are used today.
Regardless, Gossage doesn’t seem to understand that his inflammatory comments are what’s likely blackballing him from spring training.
Perhaps he can contact another team for an invite. After all, Gossage pitched for nine MLB teams from 1972-1994.
Yankees pitchers and catchers will report to Tampa, Florida on Tuesday and position players will report on Sunday.
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