Eric Gagne From The Clouds With An Announcement That He'll Pitch For Team Canada In The WBC
Eric Gagne hasn’t been a major league pitcher since 2008, and he hasn’t been a good major league pitcher since 2004.
That doesn’t matter. When Team Canada comes calling, the pride of Montreal is there for The True North. The last time that I saw Gagne pitch live in person was a summer night in 2007 at Fenway Park. After he blew his 500th game that week, a fan finally had seen enough and threw a full bottle of water from the stands that actually reached the mound. Dick move, but that basically sums up how the Gagne Era was in Boston.
Gagne’s career fizzled out the next year in Milwaukee when he accumulated a 5.44 ERA, 1.44 WHIP, and 7.4 K/9. But, because of how it ended, it’s easy to forget how great this guy actually was. In that window from 2002 through 2004, you’re talking about one of the most dominant reigns that a reliever has ever had in the history of the sport. Over that three-year stretch, Gagne appeared in 224 games, racked up 152 saves — including 84 consecutive saves, which is a major league record — posted an ERA of 1.79, a 0.82 WHIP, and a K/9 of 13.3. Because of this dominant stretch, he also became one of the most unhittable pitchers in MVP ’05, which needs to be noted.
In a situation like this, when you have a player with Gagne’s namesake making a return after a long hiatus, it wouldn’t be uncommon to say something like, “Gagne? The last time I heard that name was (insert an event that happened a long time ago).” I can’t use that here, actually. It’d be more like, Gagne? I haven’t heard that name since about three weeks ago when he was blowing smoke by Tim Tebow in batting practice.
I don’t know what Team Canada’s offense is looking like these days, but if they get the ball to Gagne in the ninth with a lead, it’s Game Over. Game over, as in he’s probably going to blow the game, because he’s 41 and 13 years removed from steroid use.