Relief Coming to the Hall (Part 3)

Here are my thoughts on five more HOF nominees.

Dwight Gooden -- Gooden was a phenomenal pitcher. At the young age of 20, he won the 1985 NL Cy Young award by leading the league in wins (24), era (1.53), and strikeouts (268). He had a noteworthy career, but it could have been so much more. Gooden could have been a Hall of Famer, but he squandered his talent. No Hall for Dwight.

Rich "Goose" Gossage -- During his career, Goose Gossage was as intimidating as they come. The stat that sticks out to me is that Gossage allowed nearly one full run less per nine innings than the great Mariano Rivera. He also averaged more than twice as many inning per appearance than Rivera has averaged during his career. Of all of the great closers, the numbers favor Gossage as the best. The only one that doesn't (and it's a biggy) is the number of saves. Gossage only has 310 saves, compared to 390 by HOFer Dennis Eckersly and 436 by Trevor Hoffman. But things were different when Gossage was pitching. Relievers/closers pitched more innings and in worse situations than closers do today. Gossage should be in the Hall already. Maybe this will be his year.

Ozzie Guillen -- Ozzie was a fan favorite on the Southside and is more beloved than ever now that he has managed the White Sox to a World Series championship. But no matter how much he is loved, Ozzie is not a HOFer.

Orel Hershiser -- Hershiser won the NL Cy Young award in 1988 and received votes in 1985, 1987 and 1989. He was one of the most dominating pitchers in the NL in the mid and late 80s. The thing I'll always remember about Hershiser is when he threw 59 consecutive scoreless innings in 1988. This is Hershiser's first year on the HOF ballot. I like Hershiser, but this is not his year.

Gregg Jefferies -- Jefferies had a nice carrer, but the HOF is not in his future.

Next time, Tommy John, Doug Jones, Don Mattingly, Willie McGee, and Hal Morris.