There was a time in baseball before free agency when players used to actually fear for their livelihoods. There were no guaranteed contracts or multi-million dollar endorsement deals for anyone. This is the time that former relief pitcher, and recent Hall of Fame inductee, Goose Gossage still lives in. That’s why he’s had it up to here with this new generation and their fraternizing with opposing players during batting practice and hanging out, like when A-Rod and Big Papi grabbed dinner together in Boston this past weekend. He says there’s too much love in the game today, and not enough hate, and that’s bad for the game. Then he started on the lack of handlebar mustaches, but the home was serving baked mush for dinner and he had to rush off before that old greedy Ms. Henson doubled up and got his share.

[Gossage] said there is too much “hugging and loving around the [batting] cage… [Former White Sox manager] Chuck Tanner would grab you, slam you up against a locker and say, ‘What are you doing talking to those guys?’.” Gossage said. “‘They aren’t your friends. They’re trying to take food off your table.’ There was no fraternizing.”

“I hated George Brett,” he said. “That ball he hit into the seats in the pine tar [game], I want to put in his neck but he was that great of a hitter. He got the barrel of the bat on the ball before he got hit in neck.”

Forget the sports shrink, maybe the Royals need to bring Goose Gossage in to the clubhouse to get them to start winning. If some crazy old man was whipping fastballs at our neck during BP until my team won five in a row, we’d be hustling out there like a mo’ fo’.

Gossage: Too much ‘loving’ in today’s game [Chicago Tribune]
Image [Rocky Mountain News]