MLB is enjoying an age of analytics, but the game is still haunted by ghosts from a simpler time, like New York Yankees legend Goose Gossage.
If you want to make former New York Yankees reliever Goose Gossage blow a gasket, simply show him a computer.
In an interview with Tampa Bay Times reporter Marc Topkin, Gossage vigorously lamented analytics-focused management. During the diatribe, he singled out Yankees general manager Brian Cashman:
“Go ahead boys, take all the credit—fire up your computer, put in all the information and see what it comes up with,” he told Topkin. “(Yankees GM Brian) Cashman has 20 of them (guys) running around. He stops and 20 of them bump into each other.”
Despite the hilarious imagery, critics will quickly point to Cashman’s recent track record of discovering bargain talent with analytics. Think Luke Voit and Mike Tauchman, quadruple-A players with their previous teams who proved to be valuable MLB talent in pinstripes.
"I WILL AVENGE YOU BRETT!"
Mike Tauchman, just SAVAGE out there. #YANKSonYES pic.twitter.com/w7M28gytxC
— YES Network (@YESNetwork) August 10, 2019
But by his own admission Gossage missed all that, thanks to his disdain for the modern game.
“I don’t even watch the game anymore,’’ Gossage told Topkin. “It breaks my heart that I can’t sit down and watch nine innings of baseball because it’s not the game I was brought up playing and respecting and loving.”
This isn’t the first time Gossage has voiced his displeasure for changes in the game he played. In 2016 he told ESPN’s Andrew Marchand that the MLB is “a freaking joke,” blaming the “nerds” in charge.
Gossage’s Hall of Fame career lasted from 1972 to 1994. He spent six of his 22 seasons (1978 to 1983) with the New York Yankees.
The 68-year-old will appear at an event celebrating the New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox rivalry on March 9 in Clearwater, Florida. Attendees can take advantage of the show’s Q&A session to coax more anti-analytics rhetoric from the legend.
Despite Gossage’s complaints, the Yankees are still one of this year’s favorites to win the World Series. With Gerrit Cole one of the early favorites to win the Cy Young, the Yankees should be one of the best teams in baseball, even if Gossage won’t watch.
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