Wednesday, January 15, 2014

1978 Topps Baseball #70 - Rich Gossage


  • Rich Gossage was signed by the New York Yankees after the 1977 season. This must be an airbrush job -- Topps wouldn't have been able to get a picture of the Goose in a Yankee uniform before the 1978 season. This might be Gossage pitching for the Pittsburgh Pirates in Veterans Stadium.
  • Rich had a great season for the Yankees, leading the AL with 27 saves. He had a tough time at first -- at the end of April Gossage was 1-3 and didn't have a save. 
  • Rich pitched in the All Star Game but took the loss as he was roughed up for four runs in the 9th inning.
  • 1978 Stats:
    • Regular Season: 10-11, 27 saves, 2.01 ERA in 63 games
    • AL Championship Series: 1-0, 1 save, 4.50 ERA in 2 games
    • World Series: 1-0, 0.00 ERA in 3 games
  • Highlights:
    • May 7 - Didn't allow a run in four innings pitched and saved the game as the Yankees beat the Texas Rangers 3-2.
    • Sept 21 - Pitched three scoreless innings and got the save in New York's 7-1 win over the Toronto Blue Jays
    • Oct 7 - Shut out the Kansas City Royals in the 9th inning, earning the save and clinching the AL Championship Series for the  Yankees.


3 comments:

  1. Definitely an airbrush over him pitching with the Bucs, although I believe the setting is Candlestick Park.

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  2. I agree with Ken. Remember that Candlestick had artificial turf back then.

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  3. You can tell it is an airbrush job because the whole thing looks so odd. You are correct that Topps would not have had the opportunity for a photo like this in time for the 1978 set. But the weirdness of the colors is what really sets off the red flags.

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