 Gooch made his major league debut with the Pittsburgh Pirates on September 9, 1921 at the age of 22.Gooch had his best season offensively in 1922 when veteran catcher Walter Schmidt, held out for more pay and didn't play until August.He posted a career-high .329 batting average in 105 games, and collected an extra-inning six-hit game, two four-hit games, and eight three-hit games.