Goose Gossage is not done ranting yet. For his latest act, he decided to rip Cam Newton.
Days after going viral for ripping stat nerds and bat-flippers, the Hall of Fame reliever decided to throw the NFL’s reigning MVP under the bus.
“It’s a shame, it breaks my heart to see the direction this game is going. What, do we want a bunch of Cam Newtons running around?” Gossage told the New York Post’s Kevin Kernan.
Gossage is upset about all the players who celebrate on the field, such as Jose Bautista, whose bat flip in the playoffs became legendary. Not satisfied ripping just baseball players, he decided to go cross-sports to the NFL and blast Newton, who is a divisive player because of his celebratory ways.
Gossage isn’t alone in the way he feels. There are many sports fans who are similarly old school, and Gossage feels like he is sticking up for the old guard.
While he was at it, Gossage also explained why he doesn’t like instant replay.
“No manager can run on the field anymore and kick dirt on the umpire,” Gossage told the Post. “That was exciting. That was part of the game. That woke everybody up and everybody loved it.
“Now you sit there for five minutes and wait for a f—ing replay. And half the time, you can’t even tell.”
Gossage already was called in for a talk with Yankees manager Joe Girardi and GM Brian Cashman about his harsh opinions, and he hasn’t backed down from his comments. You have to wonder whether the team will continue extending spring training invitations to the former pitcher if he’s going to keep causing a distraction by creating headlines. So far they are letting him speak his mind.
What’s funny is that as much as Gossage hates everything about the new generation — analytics, instant replay and celebrations — he did once say he would have been tempted to use steroids.
