Goose Gossage suspended from Padres in 1986 for objecting to team drug policy

9/3/86, LA Times: "Rich (Silly Goose) Gossage, the noted relief pitcher for the San Diego Padres, is in trouble with the front office. Padre president Ballard Smith has suspended Silly Goose for the remainder of the season. He'll probably be reinstated soon, but it has been an ugly incident.

Silly Goose got mad at Smith because Smith indicated that the team would not sign free agents with a drug history or those who refused testing. Gossage got even madder when Smith banned beer in the Padre clubhouse in early July.

So Gossage called Smith "spineless and gutless.""...

• 9/3/1986, "Goose's Specialty Isn't Golden Eggs, Nor Golden Arches," LA Times, Scott Ostler

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