Gossage's comment not helpful

• Even though they say the HOF determines an inductee's team, Gossage didn't deflect the issue when asked by Barry Bloom at a press conference. Bloom wondered why he chose to go in as a Yankee rather than a Padre--Gossage offered kind comments about all his teams. He could've left it there, just said it was a hard decision, deferred to the Hall, etc. But he added that playing for the Yankees was "an out of body experience," whatever, which was unkind toward other teams and unnecessary. It could only add to collective resentment felt about the Yankees.

• I thought it was interesting that Yogi Berra is in the Hall without a cap:

Barry Bloom's article today: "Seventeen players now, including Jackson, Joe DiMaggio, Lou Gehrig, Babe Ruth, Whitey Ford and Mickey Mantle, sport Yankees caps on their Hall of Fame plaques. Thirty-three former Yankees are in the Hall,

• including Yogi Berra, who is not wearing a cap.

Twenty-five of them, like Gossage, played at least some significant portion of their careers for the Yankees....

• For a number of years now, Hall officials have chosen the cap an inductee will wear on his plaque. Last month, when Dick Williams was elected to the Hall by a Veterans Committee reviewing managers and umpires, it was determined that Williams would go in representing the Oakland A's."

From MLB.com article by Barry Bloom, 1/09/08, "One Team Doesn't Define Gossage."

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