The Hall of Fame will present its newest members Tuesday. The annual event of announcing which former players will enter the Hall, as elected by baseball writers across the country, has honored just four closers.

Of course, the ninth-inning role is a specialization that has evolved over the last three decades. So, it’s still new ground having a closer enshrined. Only knuckleballer Hoyt Wilhelm (1985), Rollie Fingers (1992), Dennis Eckersley (2004) and Bruce Sutter (2006) have appeared on 75 percent of the ballots at election time.

Eckersley and Sutter have been inducted into the Hall in the last four years, which has to be encouraging news for Goose Gossage and Lee Smith. Both are worthy candidates, and Gossage should be honored as one of the pioneers of the ninth-inning role, much like Fingers and Sutter.

When Fingers, Sutter and Gossage began closing out games in the 1970s, the role involved more than getting three outs in the ninth inning. They often took the mound in the seventh or eighth, and were asked to record more outs to protect leads.

“Goose and Rollie Fingers created the model for closers of the future,” Hall of Famer Mike Schmidt told Ronald Blum of the Associated Press. “Fearless, intimidating, hard throwing, and would take the ball every day and go as long as needed.”

Over his career, Gossage picked up 52 regular-season saves of seven or more outs. He averaged 1.61 innings per relief appearance, which compares favorably with his Hall of Fame peers.

Innings Pitched per Game as Reliever Only

Closer . . . . . . . . . . .IP/G
Hoyt Wilhelm. . . . . . 1.84
Rollie Fingers. . . . . . 1.66
Goose Gossage. . . . .1.61
Bruce Sutter. . . . . . 1.58
Lee Smith. . . . . . . . 1.23
Dennis Eckersley. . . 1.14

Gossage, with his bushy Fu Manchu, intimidating presence and big windup, threw heat for however many outs were needed to seal the deal. And hardly anyone in the game could match his heat. Gossage became a full-time closer with the Pirates in 1977, pitching 133 innings, winning 11 games and saving 26. He posted a 1.62 ERA and a major league-low .170 opponent batting average.

The 6-foot-3 right-hander signed with the Yankees as a free agent in 1978, worked 134.1 innings, won 10 games and recorded an American League-high 27 saves. With Gossage finishing games, the Yankees overcame a 6.5-game deficit to Boston in September. After Bucky Dent hit his memorable home run over the Green Monster in the playoff game, the Goose came in to wrap up New York’s AL East title.

Gossage posted 150 saves in his six seasons with the Yankees, and only Sutter (174) posted more in that span. Gossage moved on to San Diego in 1984, where he worked 104.1 innings and saved 25 games for the National League champion Padres. He pitched another 10 seasons and retired at age 43.

"I'm the only pitcher who saw the total evolution of the bullpen,” Gossage said in a recent interview with Jeff Passan of Yahoo! Sports. “I've done every job in it. When I broke into the big leagues in '72, it was a junk pile where old starters went. You didn't want to be a part of the bullpen.”

Even after he took on setup roles late in his 30s, Gossage continued to be effective. Over his career, he posted similar numbers to the expansion-era closers who are in the Hall.

Career Statistics as Reliever Only
(listed by career saves total)

Closer . . . . . . . . . . . IP. . . . . .W-L. . . . . ERA. . . . .OBA. . . . . Sv. . . . . Pct
Lee Smith. . . . . . . 1252.1. . . . . 71-87. . . . . 2.98. . . . .235. . . . . 478. . . .82.3
Dennis Eckersley. . . 807.1. . . . . 48-41. . . . . 2.85. . . . .225. . . . . 390. . . .84.6
Rollie Fingers. . . . .1505.2. . . . 107-101. . . . .2.73. . . . .232. . . . . 341. . . .75.4
Goose Gossage. . . .1556.2. . . . 115-85. . . . . 2.77. . . . .221. . . . . 310. . . .73.5
Bruce Sutter. . . . .1042.0. . . . . 68-71. . . . . 2.83. . . . .230. . . . . 300. . . .74.8

It’s no surprise that Fingers, Sutter and Gossage recorded lower save percentages than Eckersley and Smith, who pitched shorter stints as the ninth-inning role evolved.

On the other hand, Gossage stands out for finishing 30 games over .500 as a reliever. Not only did he protect leads, he consistently shut down the opposition to allow his team to come back and win. His 115 victories as a reliever rank third behind only Wilhelm and Lindy McDaniel.

This is Gossage’s ninth year on the ballot, and he may get the call Tuesday after seeing his percentage jump from 64.6 to 71.2 a year ago. After the Goose gets in, the door should open to Smith and other closers who followed in the footsteps of the role’s pioneers. For now, though, it’s Goose’s time.