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Richard Gossage
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Goose Gossage
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The Goose Is Loose Hardcover – February 29, 2000

by Rich "Goose" Gossage (Author), Russ Pate (Author)
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Every baseball fan knows Goose Gossage as one of the great relief pitchers of all time. But in his amazingly rich memoir, Gossage reveals that he is also one of the best--and funniest--writers in sports. Wisecracking, warmhearted, endlessly entertaining, Gossage has a million hilarious stories, and in The Goose Is Loose he tells them all with incomparable wit and style.

Goose Gossage's major league career commenced inauspiciously in 1972 when the skinny twenty-year-old kid from Colorado nearly decapitated Chicago Cubs legend Ernie Banks. Twenty-two years later, the Goose--a veteran of nine ball clubs--had become a legend himself: a dominating relief pitcher whose live fastball registered at the upper limit of the radar gun. But Goose also emerged as a genuine character with his trademark Fu Manchu mustache, unflinching stare, and the ecstatic shouts of "GOOOOOOSE!" that greeted him whenever he took the mound.

Now Gossage recounts the highs and lows of those twenty-two incredible years. Here are his encounters with legends like Ernie Banks, Dick Allen, Mickey Mantle, Carl Yazstremski, Nolan Ryan, and Ken Griffey, Jr. Here is the story of how the Goose became a hot property at the age of twenty-six, only to stumble badly when he started playing with the Yankees. But Gossage bounced back and rose to the heights of Yankee stardom during the wild and crazy "Bronx Zoo" years of the late seventies and early eighties.

It's all here. Shower fights with Cliff Johnson; the running feuds with Billy Martin and George Steinbrenner; the big move from the Yankees to the Padres; the notorious "beer in the clubhouse" showdown with Padres owner Joan Kroc; the constant antics with fun-loving teammates like Terry Forster and Thurman Munson. Baseball's lore, gossip, and salty tales come alive with an insider's savvy and a stand-up comic's flawless sense of timing.

What a piece of luck for readers and sports fans alike that baseball's unrivaled relief pitcher should also have perfect aim as a writer.
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  1. Print length
    352 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Publisher
    Ballantine Books
  4. Publication date
    February 29, 2000
  5. Dimensions
    6.5 x 0.75 x 10 inches
  6. ISBN-10
    0345430689
  7. ISBN-13
    978-0345430687
  8. See all details
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Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

The sight of hulking reliever Goose Gossage staring over his Fu Manchu was only a little less menacing than the high cheese he would uncork in the next motion. In 22 major-league seasons, he regularly led fellow closers in intimidation. That's why the caricature of him smiling on the cover of his autobiography is so jolting. But it's a fair reflection of what's inside.

Gossage, it turns out, is a pretty genial fellow, funny and fun-loving, a clubhouse prankster as fast with an anecdote as he was with his heat. But like the extraordinary pitcher he was, he also knows how to change pace, and his out pitch in The Goose Is Loose is his willingness to break the code of the locker room by telling tales and naming names. Some of his stories carry more sting than a fastball to the ribs. If you wonder why there was no love lost between him and Yankee skipper Billy Martin, look no further: "My first one-on-one encounter with [him] at spring training in 1978 set the tone for my disastrous debut as a Bronx Bomber. When Martin gave me an order that I refused to follow, friction surfaced immediately and never went away." The order? To bean Texas Ranger rookie Billy Sample in the opening exhibition game. Martin was adamant. "He was as vindictive as a Mafia don." Gossage was equally adamant in refusing. He wouldn't hurt another ballplayer or fight someone else's battles. Martin would never forget, but Gossage gets the last word in.

Gossage is equally forthcoming in his lack of appreciation for Jose Canseco, Ricky Henderson, Bobby Valentine, and the John Birchers he played with in San Diego. On the other hand, his respect for Chuck Tanner, George Brett, Thurmon Munson, and Sparky Lyle--Gossage took the incumbent Cy Young winner's job--is clear. Still, the fun of The Goose Is Loose is the way Gossage goes in for the kill. If he demurred at plunking them from the mound, he has no such reservations on the page. --Jeff Silverman

From Publishers Weekly

One of baseball's first great relief pitchers, Goose Gossage amassed 310 saves in a 22-year career. He also collected enough stories to compile a baseball memoir in which he recounts innumerable hijinks, lauds dozens of teammates and coaches and takes readers through his early struggles and his most memorable appearances, such as the 1978 one-game playoff between the New York Yankees and Boston. Though it seems each page has more cliches and desperate similes than a baseball has stitches (on his arrival in Japan, "I stood out like Gulliver among the Lilliputians, towering over the Japanese people like an NBA center"; on the riot following the 1984 World Series in Detroit, "Seeing all those thousands of Tiger fans getting crunched and pummeled by mounted police reminded me of a Godzilla movie"), Pate, who has collaborated on several sports autobiographies, makes up for these bad patches by including handfuls of juicy baseball factoids. Unlike many athletes who chronicle their lives, Gossage is not afraid to throw inside. He takes to task players he considers selfish and lazy, such as Rickey Henderson and Jose Canseco. He paints a harsh picture of people with whom he's clashed, most notably team owners George Steinbrenner and Joan Kroc and managers Billy Martin and Bobby Valentine. As for Gossage himself, readers will have a mixed opinion. Sometimes he criticizes himself for his more shameful or boneheaded escapades; sometimes he gives himself a free pass by making lame excuses or jokes. This book is no Bronx Zoo, just as Gossage was no Sparky Lyle, but its "no BS, let-the-chips-fall-where-they-may" approach makes it as engaging as any sports bio in the game today.
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Ballantine Books; First Edition First Printing (February 29, 2000)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Hardcover ‏ : ‎ 352 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0345430689
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0345430687
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 1.4 pounds
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 6.5 x 0.75 x 10 inches

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Customer reviews

4.7 out of 5 stars
23 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

Thomas Zocco
5.0 out of 5 stars Does not pull any punches.
Reviewed in the United States on May 5, 2024
Verified Purchase
Goose Gossage tells what and who he liked and disliked during his Major League career. A great read.
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Beaniemayven
5.0 out of 5 stars Fun read!
Reviewed in the United States on June 29, 2013
Verified Purchase
I purchased this to have it signed by "The Goose", and to my surprise it was already signed when I got it! That was a truly awesome surprise.
One person found this helpful
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RadioRob
5.0 out of 5 stars A great blunt, honest book. I like it a lot.
Reviewed in the United States on August 10, 2015
Verified Purchase
This is written just like Goose talks, most likely will tell you more than you want to know on some subjects, but you should expect this from Goose. A great story teller and I respect it like I would a fine history book. Highly recommended.
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John Szydlowski
5.0 out of 5 stars I enjoyed my reading of The Goose is Loose because when ...
Reviewed in the United States on June 10, 2015
Verified Purchase
I enjoyed my reading of The Goose is Loose because when I was much younger I sat at the old White Sox park and watched him pitch in his early relief pitching years. I also watched a mature reliever win World Series" with the NY Yankees. By reading his book, I know the stories behind the scenes.
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Scott Goodale
4.0 out of 5 stars Solid effort by the Goose
Reviewed in the United States on April 24, 2013
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Coming across this book I had totally forgotten about was like find a $20 bill in an old pair of jeans. The reviews on the book were enough to get me to take a chance. Albeit, it didn't cost much! Anyway, the book reads easily and very quickly. There are a few times when Gossage is trying too hard to be funny, but overall the book is enjoyable and there are more than a few stories which will have you burst out laughing. There are a few with Mickey Rivers that are priceless!

After reading the book, I went to baseball reference to review Gossage's career, which I was all to familiar with especially during his first stint with the Yankees. Growing up as Red Sox fans, we all hated Gossage. I popped over to his website and found autographed copies of this very book for $99.99, but you can find it here for literal pennies, just not autographed. If you want something light to read, and want to take a journey through a stretch of baseball from the early 70's to mid 90's, consider this book, have more than a few laughs, get some interesting insights and just lose the troubles of the world for a little while!
One person found this helpful
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mary ann vasquez
5.0 out of 5 stars The Goose is Loose is great reading!!!!!
Reviewed in the United States on September 10, 2003
I loved this book! I was pleasantly surprised by some of the sensitive passages of the book. If you are a big Yankee fan this book is just right for you. A good companion to the Sparky Lyle book "The Bronx Zoo" or Graig Nettles' book "Balls". Goose writes honestly and often hilariously about his baseball experiences. I was especially moved by the passage about Thurmon Munson. If you loved the 1977-1981 Yankees, this book will refresh your memory of what it was like to be a Yankee fan in that era. I definitely reccommend this book to all Yankee fans!
2 people found this helpful
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Yankee Hank
3.0 out of 5 stars Liked the Goose better before I read the book
Reviewed in the United States on July 25, 2009
First off, I was a Sparky Lyle fan growing up in New York, so I was never much of a Goose fan. But as a die-hard Yankee fan, I felt compelled to read the book as I knew little about Gossage other than the fact that he was a hard-throwing power relief pitcher that had a good tenure in New York and whined for years about not being voted into Cooperstown...until he was finally voted in last year. After reading the book, I now also know he liked to hunt, liked to drink hard and party hard, and couldn't wait to get out of New York when his contract was up. The book is filled with some humorous anecdotes, but mainly about grown men horsing around after getting plastered and getting into fights. When you've heard one drinking story...well, it gets repetitive. I'm not a bircher, but Goose's use of worn and not so funny metaphors and profanity just lowered him in my book. Still, it was an enjoyable read for the insights of what went on during Goose's career.
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clemente_in_right
4.0 out of 5 stars Well done - entertaining and opinionated
Reviewed in the United States on June 8, 2014
Verified Purchase
I liked this book more than I figured I would. Gossage doesn't pull any punches when it comes to chiming in on the various aspects of his career. There are coaches and managers he liked (Chuck Tanner, Johnny Sain) and some he didn't (Bobby Valentine). He witnessed a lot of baseball history - the Bronx Zoo era Yankees, the first post-season team in San Diego that he feels was undone by the conservative Birch Society members, the steroid era A's. I was pleasantly surprised with how willing he was to criticize teammates like Kevin McReynolds and Jose Canseco while also willing to share his reconciliation with Don Zimmer in the 1990s after a strained relationship when the two were with the Cubs in the 1980s.

As another reviewer noted, a weak spot in the book is the few times where Gossage intentionally tries to be witty or funny and winds up falling flat.

An enjoyable read for all.
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