Gossage won’t back down from rant

Hall of Famer Goose Gossage has met with New York Yankees general manager Brian Cashman and manager Joe Girardi one day after criticizing Toronto star Jose Bautista and New York Mets slugger Yoenis Cespedes for the way the pair celebrated home runs during the playoffs last year.

Gossage, a Yankees’ spring training guest instructor, said Friday that everything is good between him and the team, but doesn’t regret his comments.

“No, not really ... I said what I said,” Gossage said. “I was passed the torch, a certain way to act. Flipping the bat is not part of it. All the things that I said, Bautista just came into mind. I was asked a question, and got it off my chest. Hopefully, they think about it.

“Nobody else is going to tell them not to do it. None of their teammates. Act like Jeter, act like Mo (Mariano Rivera). Act like a professional. That’s all.”

Gossage called Bautista a “disgrace to the game” during a profanity-laced interview in Tampa on Thursday.

“He’s embarrassing to all the Latin players, whoever played before him,” Gossage told ESPN Thursday. “Throwing his bat and acting like a fool, like all those guys in Toronto. Cespedes, same thing.”

Bautista memorably flipped his bat after hitting a three-run homer that gave the Blue Jays the lead in the seventh inning in Game 5 of the AL Division Series against Texas.

Cespedes added his own highlight bat flip after a home run during Game 3 of the NL Division Series against the Los Angeles Dodgers.

“I just kind of lost my mind there for a minute,” Gossage said. “You’re talking to an old-school guy, man. And there are things I have a hard time with.”

Gossage also said in Thursday’s interview that baseball is becoming a joke because of the nerds running it.