Ode to Greatness: Bob Gibson

Ode to Greatness:  Bob Gibson

Robert Gibson (Hoot or Gibby) born Pack Robert Gibson Position: Pitcher Bats: Right, Throws: Right Height: 6' 1", Weight: 189 lb.

Born: November 9, 1935 in Omaha, NE (Age 75)
High School: Technical (Omaha, NE)
School: Creighton University
Signed by the St. Louis Cardinals as an amateur free agent in 1957. (All Transactions)
Debut: April 15, 1959
Team: Cardinals 1959-1975

Final Game: September 3, 1975
Inducted into the Hall of Fame by BBWAA as Player in 1981 (337/401 ballots).
   View Bob Gibson Page at the Baseball Hall of Fame (plaque, photos, videos). 
    About biographical information

Year	Age	Tm	Lg	W	L	W-L%	ERA	G	GS	GF	CG	SHO	SV	IP	H	R	ER	HR	BB	IBB	SO	HBP	BK	WP	BF	ERA+	WHIP	H/9	HR/9	BB/9	SO/9	SO/BB	Awards
1959	23	STL	NL	3	5	.375	3.33	13	9	3	2	1	0	75.2	77	35	28	4	39	2	48	1	0	4	333	127	1.533	9.2	0.5	4.6	5.7	1.23
1960	24	STL	NL	3	6	.333	5.61	27	12	3	2	0	0	86.2	97	61	54	7	48	6	69	1	0	3	399	73	1.673	10.1	0.7	5.0	7.2	1.44
1961	25	STL	NL	13	12	.520	3.24	35	27	3	10	2	1	211.1	186	91	76	13	119	7	166	6	1	8	916	137	1.443	7.9	0.6	5.1	7.1	1.40
1962	26	STL	NL	15	13	.536	2.85	32	30	2	15	5	1	233.2	174	84	74	15	95	9	208	10	0	11	967	151	1.151	6.7	0.6	3.7	8.0	2.19	AS
1963	27	STL	NL	18	9	.667	3.39	36	33	2	14	2	0	254.2	224	110	96	19	96	1	204	13	1	6	1088	106	1.257	7.9	0.7	3.4	7.2	2.13
1964	28	STL	NL	19	12	.613	3.01	40	36	3	17	2	1	287.1	250	106	96	25	86	9	245	9	0	6	1191	127	1.169	7.8	0.8	2.7	7.7	2.85	MVP-23
1965	29	STL	NL	20	12	.625	3.07	38	36	1	20	6	1	299.0	243	110	102	34	103	6	270	11	1	8	1233	126	1.157	7.3	1.0	3.1	8.1	2.62	AS,GG
1966	30	STL	NL	21	12	.636	2.44	35	35	0	20	5	0	280.1	210	90	76	20	78	5	225	5	0	12	1119	148	1.027	6.7	0.6	2.5	7.2	2.88	AS,GG
1967	31	STL	NL	13	7	.650	2.98	24	24	0	10	2	0	175.1	151	62	58	10	40	3	147	3	1	3	703	110	1.089	7.8	0.5	2.1	7.5	3.68	AS,MVP-22,GG
1968	32	STL	NL	22	9	.710	1.12	34	34	0	28	13	0	304.2	198	49	38	11	62	6	268	7	0	4	1161	258	0.853	5.8	0.3	1.8	7.9	4.32	AS,CYA-1,MVP-1,GG
1969	33	STL	NL	20	13	.606	2.18	35	35	0	28	4	0	314.0	251	84	76	12	95	7	269	10	2	4	1270	164	1.102	7.2	0.3	2.7	7.7	2.83	AS,MVP-30,GG
1970	34	STL	NL	23	7	.767	3.12	34	34	0	23	3	0	294.0	262	111	102	13	88	9	274	4	1	5	1213	133	1.190	8.0	0.4	2.7	8.4	3.11	AS,CYA-1,MVP-4,GG
1971	35	STL	NL	16	13	.552	3.04	31	31	0	20	5	0	245.2	215	96	83	14	76	11	185	7	0	10	1026	119	1.185	7.9	0.5	2.8	6.8	2.43	CYA-5,MVP-23,GG
1972	36	STL	NL	19	11	.633	2.46	34	34	0	23	4	0	278.0	226	83	76	14	88	11	208	3	2	10	1119	139	1.129	7.3	0.5	2.8	6.7	2.36	AS,CYA-9,GG
1973	37	STL	NL	12	10	.545	2.77	25	25	0	13	1	0	195.0	159	71	60	12	57	6	142	3	1	6	790	133	1.108	7.3	0.6	2.6	6.6	2.49	GG
1974	38	STL	NL	11	13	.458	3.83	33	33	0	9	1	0	240.0	236	111	102	24	104	14	129	5	3	2	1041	95	1.417	8.9	0.9	3.9	4.8	1.24
1975	39	STL	NL	3	10	.231	5.04	22	14	4	1	0	2	109.0	120	66	61	10	62	6	60	4	0	6	499	76	1.670	9.9	0.8	5.1	5.0	0.97
17 Seasons				251	174	.591	2.91	528	482	21	255	56	6	3884.1	3279	1420	1258	257	1336	118	3117	102	13	108	16068	128	1.188	7.6	0.6	3.1	7.2	2.33
162 Game Avg.				17	12	.591	2.91	36	32	1	17	4	0	262	221	96	85	17	90	8	210	7	1	7	1082	128	1.188	7.6	0.6	3.1	7.2	2.33
			Lg	W	L	W-L%	ERA	G	GS	GF	CG	SHO	SV	IP	H	R	ER	HR	BB	IBB	SO	HBP	BK	WP	BF	ERA+	WHIP	H/9	HR/9	BB/9	SO/9	SO/BB	Awards

Check this guy out.  6'1", 189 lbs.  Black.  Civil Rights Era.  Intimidating.  Challenging.  Dominating.  Played basketball for the Harlem Globetrotters professionally before deciding on baseball and made the All Star team in 1963 and was a star after that.  He would go on to become one of the greatest pitchers of all time.  

Between games, Mays came over to me and said, "Now, in the second game, you're going up against Bob Gibson." I only half-listened to what he was saying, figuring it didn't make much difference. So I walked up to the plate the first time and started digging a little hole with my back foot...No sooner did I start digging that hole than I hear Willie screaming from the dugout: "Noooooo!" Well, the first pitch came inside. No harm done, though. So I dug in again. The next thing I knew, there was a loud crack and my left shoulder was broken. I should have listened to Willie."

Jim Ray Hart^[22]

You can see his stats (most of them...) and you can see he was a 5 time 20 game winner.  Career ERA of 2.91.  Complete games were off the charts by today's standards. He even completed over half of all his career starts.  Think about that...now take a closer look at 1968.  The Year of the Pitcher.

Ridiculous.  22-9 is great but nothing that hasn't been done before.  But his ERA??  1.12!!!  Between June 2nd and July 30th 1968 he gave up only 2 earned runs in ninety two innings.  That's a 0.20 ERA over that stretch.  At one point in the season he had 47 consecutive scoreless innings pitched.  His ERA that season is the lowest of all time for a season where he pitched over 300 innings.  Oh, yeah...he pitched over 300 innings that season. 28 Complete games and 13 shutouts. 268 K's.  He would lose 5 games that season that were 1 run games.  One was against Gaylord Perry's no-hitter that season.  Gibson won the Cy Young and the NL MVP that season.  The Cardinals went on to the World Series that season.  Game One went to Gibson.  17 K's.  To close out the game he gave up a single to lead off the 9th inning of Game 1.  Then he k'd the next three guys, Al Kaline, Norm Cash and and Willie Horton.  Blew it right by them.  9th inning.  Complete Game. World Series.  17 K's.  Still a record.  (Koufax had 15 two years earlier)

1969 MLB lowered the pitchers mound 5 inches in part some say due to Bob Gibson's incredible 1968 season.  The idea was to take the advantage off the pitchers a bit.  1969 for Gibson was a 20-13 season with 28 complete games, 4 shutouts and a 2.18 ERA.  That year he also joined an exclusive club of 15 MLB pitchers who have thrown an immaculate inning.  9 pitches, 3 K's.  1 IP.  Only been done by 15 pitchers.  Ever.  9 in the NL.  

Gibson was sometimes used by the Cardinals as a pinch-hitter, and in 1970, he hit .303 for the season, which was over 100 points higher than his teammate, shortstop Dal Maxvill. For his career, he batted .206 (274-for-1,328) with 44 doubles, 5 triples, 24 home runs (plus two more in the World Series) and 144 RBIs, plus stealing 13 bases and walking 63 times for a .206/.243/.301 line.^[56] He is one of only two pitchers since World War II with a career batting average of .200 or higher, and with at least 20 home runs and 100 RBIs (Bob Lemon, who had broken into the majors as a third baseman, is the other at .232). Gibson was above average as a baserunner and thus was occasionally used as a pinch runner, despite managers' general reluctance to risk injury to pitchers in this way.

"(Hank Aaron told me) 'Don't dig in against Bob Gibson, he'll knock you down. He'd knock down his own grandmother if she dared to challenge him. Don't stare at him, don't smile at him, don't talk to him. He doesn't like it. If you happen to hit a home run, don't run too slow, don't run too fast. If you happen to want to celebrate, get in the tunnel first. And if he hits you, don't charge the mound, because he's a Gold Glove boxer.' I'm like, 'Damn, what about my 17-game hitting streak?' That was the night it ended."

Dusty Baker^[68]

9 time Gold Glover Winner.  2 time NL Cy Young winner,  No hitter, MVP,  World Series winner twice, WS MVP, he has the awards.  He has the records.  Had it not been for a bad ankle and a rough divorce he may have even played longer but quit after giving up a grand slam to a no namer in 1975 and decided to retire to focus on his divorce and personal life.  

He is a member of the All Century Team and is commonly revered as one of the greatest right handed pitchers of all time.  He was a workhorse, intimidating inside pitcher who was not afraid to hit you if it meant it opened up the slider for the outside part of the plate, yet he rarely hit people.  He was hands down, one of the greatest pitchers of all time.