Goose\'s learning curve

Tag : half sleeve

He got himself a world-class nickname thanks to White Sox pitcherTom Bradley, who thought his roommate looked like a goose when hecraned his neck on the mound to read the catcher's signs. He got alifetime's worth of scared-straight advice from manager ChuckTanner. And superstar hitter Dick Allen -- on the way to winningthe American League MVP that season -- taught Gossage how to be atop-shelf pitcher who scared the hell out of the competition.
Meeting Allen remains a vivid memory for Gossage.
Shortly after his first sleepless night in Chicago, a 20-year-oldGossage was on a mound at Comiskey as the players tried to work outthe kinks after their strike. He didn't spend much time with Allenduring spring training because the superstar first baseman reportedlate. Then Allen stepped to the plate during Gossage's warmupsession.
''He hears me throwing, and he hears this pop of this glove -- andI'm throwing aspirins down there,'' Gossage said. ''Now I'm going,'Oh, my God, there's Dick Allen standing up there.' He just wantedto take a look at some pitches, and he said, 'I've never seen manyarms like this.' ''
Allen knew Gossage would be special, and he took the bigright-hander under his wing. The same Dick Allen who was known forsulking and irritating teammates clicked with Gossage the instantthey met.
Allen knew an amazing arm when he saw one.
''He said, 'I'll give you some advice, always keep a sleeve onit,''' Gossage said. ''I always did, even in the hottest weather.If you remember Dick, he wore those wool sleeves. It would be 105degrees in Chicago, and Dick would have those long sleeves all theway down past his wrist. And so did I. I did everything he told meto do.''
Allen's best advice centered on being an intimidating force on themound. Allen let Gossage see pitching through the eyes of one ofthe most talented hitters in the game.
They spent hours talking about pitching. Allen knew Gossage hadpinpoint control with his 100 mph fastball. If Gossage wanted theupper hand on hitters, Allen told him to aim for the left elbow onright-handed batters -- meaning a pitch that could zing awfullyclose to the inside part of the plate or just below the chin.
''This is something that really isn't being taught anymore,''Gossage said. ''Everything's away, away, away. Everybody wants toreinvent the wheel. This was the most important lesson that I everlearned, and money couldn't pay for this lesson Dick gave me.
''He said, 'We as hitters see it, but God can't get the barrel onthe bat if there's a ball over here. Out over [the outside edge ofthe plate] you can fight it off. You might hit the ball down theright-field line or you can still get the barrel of the bat to it.'That ball on the inner half up, that's not where I started, this iswhere I went to bury a guy.''