Goose Gossage named my dog. I know, kind of an odd way to start a blog post…but it’s true. A couple years back I got to sit down and talk with the Hall of Fame closer. Gossage is one of the nicest guys you’d ever want to meet. He is friendly, easy going and up to tell a story or two about his days pitching for the New York Yankees. For me it was truly a day I’ll never forget. To me Gossage was a mythical giant. I would sit at the Stadium and ask my dad over an over, once the Yanks lead, “Think we'll get to see him today?” I would wait in my plastic batting helmet, keeping a sharp eye an the outfield wall near the pen. I remember hoping that the Yankee Bullpen car would emerge and Bob Shepard would announce, “Your attention please, coming in to pitch for the Yankees, number 54, Rich Gossage, number 54.” Younger Yankee fans may not remember the bullpen car…it was a Toyota Celica. Before the years of Metallica’s ushering the imMOrtal Sandman’s jog to the hill, the bullpen car would bring the Goose to the mound with the ceremony of a conquering hero. (Though not so much in the early Yankee years if you ask Gossage). There was nothing like it. It was up there with seeing Reggie knocking one out or Bucky making a diving stop and throw.
Anyway, back to the naming of my puppy. I told Mr. Gossage after we’d talked baseball for a good 25 minutes that I was about to pick up a new dog and that I was going to name him after a Yankee great. I’d narrowed it down to Whitey, Goose, Gator, Yogi or Boomer. I asked Rich why I should name the dog Goose thinking he give a quick answer like, “’Cause I’m the Goose, Mike.” But he didn’t. Instead he took a long minute to think on it.
He then lifted his head said, with heartfelt sincerity, “Mikey, you should name that dog Thurman. He was my Captain and one of my closest friends. Dog’s are man’s best friend after all…I can’t think of a stronger name.” And so as I sit here, typing this post, next to me sits my bulldog, Thurman Mattingly O’Hara. He has the same crouch and “on guard” stare as his namesake by the way.
Why start with that story? I don’t know. It’s one that means a lot to me. I’m a Yankee baseball fan, but the club and the guys who wear and have worn “the Pinstripes” have been a big part of my life for a long time now. The Yankees aren’t just a baseball team to me. They are woven into the fabric of my life. I was born and raised a fan of the Bronx Bombers. My dad took my to my first game at age 4. My great aunt worked in the front office and would take my mom down to meet the players when she was young. Every year while I was living in LA, I would come back east, and a trip to The Stadium was the corner stone of my trip’s to-do list. Hell, when my family gets Chinese food and reads the fortunes from the cookies, we call out the lucky numbers and then the names of the guys who wore them…”Confucius say, you will be embarking on a great adventure. 3 Babe Ruth, 21 Paul O’Neill, 30 Willie Randolph, 10 Scooter Rizzuto, 1 Billy Martin.”
I love to write and talk about the Yankees. Not just the good years, but the lousy ones too. It’s great to pick up the phone with a buddy from my old neighborhood and make a well-placed joke about Mel Hall or Kevin Maas as we wrap up the conversation.
Or have a beer with my dad around the holidays and talk about watching the “Pine tar Game” on WPIX11 as Nettles pounded his mitt and bounced out of frame like a school kid when the ump called George Brett out. The Yanks are a touchstone for me almost the way they were to Sean Connery’s character in “Finding Forrester”.
Getting to be a new “Utility Infielder” for Bleeding Yankee Blue has been amazing. Casey and the other writers do such a great job of giving the reader a well-rounded take on the team, the ups and the downs. Yeah, I guess if you aren’t a Yankee fan you’d probably just assume read the back of a shampoo bottle, but the site and writing ain’t for you…so get over it or get lost. I LOVE that we can talk all things Yankees and not have to deal with the constant and ignorant voices crying, “You guys buy titles!” or “Hey how’s A-Roid?” or “Being a Yankee fan is like rooting for Microsoft!" Are we somehow less than fans of smaller market or losing teams because our club is the most successful organization in sports history? The answer is NO. Absolutely and emphatically NO! Let the Bill Simmons and Jim Caples whine and jab. Let Cubs fan go on saying, “Don’t we deserve to win one?” Um…no, no you don’t. Hand them a participation ribbon if that’ll help them sleep at night. Bleeding Yankee Blue is just a great way to enjoy the team and all eit means to us.
I wanted to say thank you to Casey and company for letting me be involved with BYB, even if it’s just a spot start or a long relief role. I have really enjoyed being able to put down my thoughts on the Yanks and reading the writing of the other contributors. Like the Bombers, Bleeding Yankee Blue is a class organization…I’m proud to have a locker in the clubhouse…like Clay Bellinger or Ramiro Mendoza.
Thanks again, Case... from me... and Thruman M. O'Hara!
--Mike O'Hara, MLB Fan Cave Host, Season 1
Twitter: @mikeyoh21
"Paulie was always my favorite player."
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