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.
Definitely an airbrush over him pitching with the Bucs, although I believe the setting is Candlestick Park.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Ken. Remember that Candlestick had artificial turf back then.
ReplyDeleteYou 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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