Rich Gossage

Pitcher · Career Stats, Hall of Fame Bio & Records (1972-1994)

⭐ Hall of Fame 2008
W–L 124–107
ERA 3.01
WHIP 1.23
SO 1,502
Pitcher PIV 28157.0
Position
Pitcher
Bats / Throws
R / R
Height / Weight
6'3" / 180 lb
Born
7/5/1951 in Colorado Springs, CO, USA
MLB Debut
1972-04-16
Last Game
1994-08-08
Hall of Fame
Inducted 2008 (BBWAA)
Awards
9× All-Star · Reliever of the Year

Full name: Richard Michael Gossage

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Career Pitching Statistics

W L G GS CG SHO SV IP H ER HR BB SO ERA Pitcher PIV
124 107 1,002 37 16 0 310 1809.3 1,497 605 119 732 1,502 3.01 28157.0

Career ERA 3.01 vs. league average 3.84 across their career seasons — 21.7% better than league average.

Season-by-Season Pitching

Pitching Career Arc

Click a stat to plot it across every season.

Year Team Lg W L G GS CG SHO SV IP H ER BB SO ERA Lg ERA Pitcher PIV
1972 CHA AL 7 1 36 1 0 0 2 80.0 72 38 44 57 4.28 3.26 (-31%) 335.4
1973 CHA AL 0 4 20 4 1 0 0 49.7 57 41 37 33 7.43 3.75 (-98%) -2809.4
1974 CHA AL 4 6 39 3 0 0 1 89.3 92 41 47 64 4.13 3.63 (-14%) 578.4
1975 CHA AL 9 8 62 0 0 0 26 141.7 99 29 70 130 1.84 3.71 (+50%) 3992.5
1976 CHA AL 9 17 31 29 15 0 1 224.0 214 98 90 135 3.94 3.51 (-12%) -938.1
1977 PIT NL 11 9 72 0 0 0 26 133.0 78 24 49 151 1.62 4.00 (+59%) 5127.7
1978 NYA AL 10 11 63 0 0 0 27 134.3 87 30 59 122 2.01 3.69 (+45%) 2364.9
1979 NYA AL 5 3 36 0 0 0 18 58.3 48 17 19 41 2.62 4.00 (+34%) 862.1
1980 NYA AL 6 2 64 0 0 0 33 99.0 74 25 37 103 2.27 3.84 (+41%) 3440.1
1981 NYA AL 3 2 32 0 0 0 20 46.7 22 4 14 48 0.77 3.58 (+78%) 1789.2
1982 NYA AL 4 5 56 0 0 0 30 93.0 63 23 28 102 2.23 3.86 (+42%) 4117.6
1983 NYA AL 13 5 57 0 0 0 22 87.3 82 22 25 90 2.27 3.87 (+41%) 3424.9
1984 SDN NL 10 6 62 0 0 0 25 102.3 75 33 36 84 2.90 3.81 (+24%) 2187.9
1985 SDN NL 5 3 50 0 0 0 26 79.0 64 16 17 52 1.82 3.89 (+53%) 3366.9
1986 SDN NL 5 7 45 0 0 0 21 64.7 69 32 20 63 4.45 3.97 (-12%) 853.6
1987 SDN NL 5 4 40 0 0 0 11 52.0 47 18 19 44 3.12 4.29 (+27%) 1338.4
1988 CHN NL 4 4 46 0 0 0 13 43.7 50 21 15 30 4.33 3.73 (-16%) 230.1
1989 SFN NL 2 1 31 0 0 0 4 43.7 32 13 27 24 2.68 3.71 (+28%) -440.7
1989 NYA AL 1 0 11 0 0 0 1 14.3 14 6 3 6 3.77 3.71 (-2%) 340.5
1991 TEX AL 4 2 44 0 0 0 1 40.3 33 16 16 28 3.57 3.91 (+9%) -260.7
1992 OAK AL 0 2 30 0 0 0 0 38.0 32 12 19 26 2.84 3.75 (+24%) -985.8
1993 OAK AL 4 5 39 0 0 0 1 47.7 49 24 26 40 4.53 4.19 (-8%) -542.3
1994 SEA AL 3 0 36 0 0 0 1 47.3 44 22 15 29 4.18 4.51 (+7%) -216.3
Career · 23 seasons 124 107 1,002 37 16 0 310 1,809.1 1,497 605 732 1,502 3.01 — 28,157

Lg columns show the league average for that season, with the player's figure as a percentage above or below it. Career totals the seasons listed above.

Career Batting Statistics

G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB BB SO AVG OBP SLG OPS PIV
1,003 85 1 9 1 0 0 2 0 4 37 .106 .146 .118 .264 0

Career AVG .106 vs. league average .259 across their career seasons — 59.1% below league average.

Career OBP .146 vs. league average .325 across their career seasons — 55.0% below league average.

Career SLG .118 vs. league average .386 across their career seasons — 69.5% below league average.

Career OPS .264 vs. league average .710 across their career seasons — 62.9% below league average.

Season-by-Season Batting

Career Arc

Click a stat to plot it across every season.

Year Team Lg G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB BB SO AVG Lg AVG Lg OBP Lg SLG Lg OPS PIV
1972 CHA AL 36 16 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 11 .000 — — — — 0.0
1973 CHA AL 21 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 — — — — 0.0
1974 CHA AL 39 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 — — — — 0.0
1975 CHA AL 62 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 — — — — 0.0
1976 CHA AL 31 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 — — — — 0.0
1977 PIT NL 72 23 0 5 1 0 0 2 0 1 8 .217 — — — — 0.0
1978 NYA AL 63 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 — — — — 0.0
1979 NYA AL 36 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 — — — — 0.0
1980 NYA AL 64 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 — — — — 0.0
1981 NYA AL 32 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 — — — — 0.0
1982 NYA AL 56 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 — — — — 0.0
1983 NYA AL 57 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 — — — — 0.0
1984 SDN NL 62 22 0 4 0 0 0 0 0 1 8 .182 — — — — 0.0
1985 SDN NL 50 11 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 5 .000 — — — — 0.0
1986 SDN NL 45 7 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 .000 — — — — 0.0
1987 SDN NL 40 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 .000 — — — — 0.0
1988 CHN NL 46 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 — — — — 0.0
1989 SFN NL 31 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 — — — — 0.0
1989 NYA AL 11 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 — — — — 0.0
1991 TEX AL 44 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 — — — — 0.0
1992 OAK AL 30 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 — — — — 0.0
1993 OAK AL 39 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 — — — — 0.0
1994 SEA AL 36 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 — — — — 0.0
Career · 23 seasons 1,003 85 1 9 1 0 0 2 0 4 37 .106 — — — — 0

Lg columns show the league average for that season, with the player's figure as a percentage above or below it. Career totals the seasons listed above.

Postseason Statistics

Playoff Career Batting

G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO AVG
19 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 .000

Playoff Batting by Year

Year Round Team G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO AVG
1984 NLCS SDN 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
1984 WS SDN 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
1981 AEDIV NYA 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
1981 ALCS NYA 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
1981 WS NYA 3 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 .000
1980 ALCS NYA 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
1978 ALCS NYA 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
1978 WS NYA 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000

Playoff Career Pitching

W L G GS SV IP H ER BB SO ERA
2 1 19 0 8 31.3 21 10 7 29 2.87

Playoff Pitching by Year

Year Round Team W L G GS SV IP H ER BB SO ERA
1984 NLCS SDN 0 0 3 0 1 4.0 5 2 1 5 4.50
1984 WS SDN 0 0 2 0 0 2.7 3 4 1 2 13.50
1981 AEDIV NYA 0 0 3 0 3 6.7 3 0 2 8 0.00
1981 ALCS NYA 0 0 2 0 1 2.7 1 0 0 2 0.00
1981 WS NYA 0 0 3 0 2 5.0 2 0 2 5 0.00
1980 ALCS NYA 0 1 1 0 0 0.3 3 2 0 0 54.00
1978 ALCS NYA 1 0 2 0 1 4.0 3 2 0 3 4.50
1978 WS NYA 1 0 3 0 0 6.0 1 0 1 4 0.00

Game Log & Splits

View full game log (2003 games) →

Per-game data from Retrosheet (regular season, through 2025).

Batting — Home / Away

SplitGABRHHRRBIAVG
Home490340200.059
Away512511702.137

Pitching — Home / Away

SplitGIPHERBBSOERA
Home490875.07152713147402.79
Away511931.27773324177603.21

Last 10 Games — Pitching

DateTmOppDecIPHRERBBSOHR
1994-08-08 SEATEX SV 3.0000010
1994-08-06 SEAKCR — 1.0000010
1994-08-04 SEALAA W 0.1000000
1994-07-31 SEACHW — 2.0100000
1994-07-29 SEACHW — 1.0000000
1994-07-24 SEABOS — 0.1100000
1994-07-23 SEABOS — 1.0000100
1994-07-18 SEABAL — 1.2100010
1994-07-17 SEANYY — 0.1211010
1994-07-14 SEANYY — 0.2222100

Fielding Statistics

Career Fielding Totals by Position

Position G GS PO A E DP
P 1002 37 78 180 21 11

Season-by-Season Fielding

Year Team Pos G GS PO A E DP
1972 CHA P 36 1 3 10 1 1
1973 CHA P 20 4 5 5 1 0
1974 CHA P 39 3 3 14 2 1
1975 CHA P 62 0 3 25 3 3
1976 CHA P 31 29 18 27 3 1
1977 PIT P 72 0 4 10 1 0
1978 NYA P 63 0 6 12 3 0
1979 NYA P 36 0 1 4 0 0
1980 NYA P 64 0 1 10 2 0
1981 NYA P 32 0 2 7 1 1
1982 NYA P 56 0 2 6 0 1
1983 NYA P 57 0 2 3 1 0
1984 SDN P 62 0 5 8 0 0
1985 SDN P 50 0 0 7 0 1
1986 SDN P 45 0 2 5 0 0
1987 SDN P 40 0 2 5 0 0
1988 CHN P 46 0 1 7 0 0
1989 SFN P 31 0 5 3 1 0
1989 NYA P 11 0 2 1 0 1
1991 TEX P 44 0 2 2 1 0
1992 OAK P 30 0 2 4 0 0
1993 OAK P 39 0 5 3 1 0
1994 SEA P 36 0 2 2 0 1

Career Games by Position

Position Diamond

Circle size = games played at each position.

Position Games
Pitcher 1002
Designated Hitter 1

Awards & Honors

Year Award Notes
1979 Pitcher of the Month September
1978 Player of the Week Week of 1978-09-01
1978 Reliever of the Year Award
1978 TSN Fireman of the Year
1975 TSN Fireman of the Year

Salary History

Year Team League Salary
1993 OAK AL $325,000
1992 OAK AL $300,000
1989 SFN NL $68,000
1988 CHN NL $1,331,532
1987 SDN NL $1,273,904
1986 SDN NL $1,046,761
1985 SDN NL $1,713,333
Total Career Earnings $6,058,530

Award Voting History

Year Award League Finish Points Won Points Max Votes First
1984 Cy Young Award NL 5th 3.0 120 0
1984 Most Valuable Player NL 13th 34.0 336 0
1981 Cy Young Award AL 5th 3.0 140 0
1981 Most Valuable Player AL 9th 62.0 392 0
1980 Cy Young Award AL 3rd 37.0 140 2
1980 Most Valuable Player AL 3rd 218.0 392 4
1978 Cy Young Award AL 5th 4.0 140 0
1978 Most Valuable Player AL 13th 39.0 392 0
1975 Cy Young Award AL 6th 2.0 120 0
1975 Most Valuable Player AL 17th 11.0 336 0

Most Similar Players

Career comps based on counting + rate stats and primary position. Score is relative — closest peer anchors at ~98%.

Career Spans

Rich Gossage (highlighted) compared to peers across the same era.

  1. 98
    Rollie Fingers HOF
    114-118, 2.90 ERA
  2. 92
    Hoyt Wilhelm HOF
    143-122, 2.52 ERA
  3. 88
    Tug McGraw
    96-92, 3.14 ERA
  4. 84
    Lindy McDaniel
    141-119, 3.45 ERA
  5. 83
    Dave Righetti
    82-79, 3.46 ERA
  6. 81
    Stu Miller
    105-103, 3.24 ERA

Compare Rich Gossage

Side-by-side career stat comparisons against Gossage's closest peers by position and era.

vs Mariano Rivera
vs Dennis Eckersley
vs Hoyt Wilhelm
vs Billy Wagner
vs Ron Guidry
vs Trevor Hoffman

Browse all MLB player comparisons →

Frequently Asked Questions about Rich Gossage

What years did Rich Gossage play?
Rich Gossage played in Major League Baseball from 1972 to 1994.
Was Rich Gossage a pitcher?
Yes. Rich Gossage pitched in the major leagues, recording 124 wins and 1502 strikeouts.
How many home runs did Rich Gossage hit?
Rich Gossage hit 0 career home runs with 9 hits.
Is Rich Gossage in the Hall of Fame?
Yes. Rich Gossage was inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 2008.