Day 4: The Gray Goose

(image from AP - national baseball hall of fame)

Yesterday, Goose Gossage was voted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame. What's that you say? That, yesterday was missing a Baseball Song of the Day, on only Day 4? Well, yes it's true, however here's the tie-in. Goose Gossage was one of the all-time great pitchers in MLB history, he was a hold-back to an older era when relief-pitchers actually faced more than 1 - 3 batters to get the save. 52 of Rich "Goose" Gossage's 310 career saves were for seven outs or more. Compare that to two of today's historic save leaders; Mariano Rivera has 1 seven out save, and Trevor Hoffman has two. According to www.baseballhistorian.com ...

Gossage first appeared in a game in 4.16.1972 at age 20, and pitched until 8.8.1994. He appeared in over 1000 games, threw 16 complete games, over 1,500 strike outs, over 300 saves, 124 Wins, not only pitched to end games to get the save, but often pitched 2 innings or so to get the save. Goose was a 6 time All Star, appeared in 3 World Series, 78, 81, and 84, in which he went a total of 1-0 with 1 save and a 2.63 ERA in 13.2 innings and had 11 strike outs.

So if the voters really needed 8 years to put The Goose in the hall, we here at BSOD can wait a day to put him in our blog (secretly wonders if anyone bought that).

Our Baseball Song of the Day is a salute to The Goose and to his ability to come straight at folks and never be captured and to keep eluding hitters over and over. The song is Leadbelly's "The Gray Goose." Just as the lyrics mention, you can think that you have a hold on the goose, and that you have him in your sights, but bringing him down and beating him, was a whole 'nother story.

Seeing as it took a little time for him to enter the hall, and that his hair is a little gray now, and that he wore Yankee shades of gray (black and white ..etc.), this one's for you - you ole mustached flame-throwing fool (said with love).


BSOD 4: The Gray Goose
Artist: Leadbelly
Album: Leadbelly Vol. 5 1939-1947
Released: September 1994 (this version of it at least)


The Gray Goose Lyrics (or as close as we me get to them)

Well, las' Monday mornin', Lawd, Lawd, Lawd,
Well, las' Monday mornin', Lawd, Lawd, Lawd

My daddy went a-huntin'
Well, he carried along his zulu1
Well, along come a grey goose
Well, he throwed it to his shoulder,
an' he ram his hammer' way back

Well, he pulled on de trigger
Well, down he come a-windin'
He was six weeks a-fallin'
He was six weeks a-findin'
An' he put him on de wagon,
An'he taken him to de white house

He was six weeks a-pickin'
Lordy, your wife an'my wife,
Oh, they give a feather pickin'
An' they put him on to parboil2
He was six months a-parboil',
An' they put him on de table,

Now, de fork couldn' stick him,
An' de knife couldn't cut him
An' they throwed him in de hog-pen,
An' he broke de ol'sow's jawbone

An' they taken him to de sawmill,
An' he broke de saw's teeth out
An' de las' time I seed him,
Well, he's flyin' across de ocean,
Wid a long string o' goslin's,
An' they all goin': quank quink-quank