Gossage and top relievers of his era were known as "firemen", relievers who entered the game when a lead was in jeopardy—usually with men on base—and regardless of the inning and often pitching two or three innings while finishing the game. Gossage had 17 games where he recorded at least 10 outs in his first season as a closer, including three games where he went seven innings. He pitched over 130 innings as a reliever in three different seasons. He had more saves of at least two innings than saves where he pitched one inning or less. The ace reliever's role evolved to where he was reserved for games where the team had a lead of three runs or less in the ninth inning. Mariano Rivera, considered the greatest closer of all time, earned only one save of seven-plus outs in his career, while Gossage logged 53. "Don't tell me [Rivera's] the best relief pitcher of all-time until he can do the same job I did. He may be the best modern closer, but you have to compare apples to apples. Do what we did," said Gossage.