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.  

Derek Jeter Should Step Down

"And despite a down year that has him batting .260 with two homers, and currently nursing a calf strain in the Minor Leagues, Jeter is an All-Star Game starter for the sixth straight year. By the time this year's version rolls around, he should be healthy enough to play, and he could do so as the 28th member of the 3,000-hit club."

He should probably step down and let a player that actually has had a good year start the game.  How does a .260 average and 2 homers and half the first half justify starting the All-Star Game?

Because fan's are stupid.

I like the voting system as it is, it keep fans interested and engaged throughout the process but I think situations like this that happen every year in every sport take away from the acheivement of making the All-Star team in the first place.  Yao Ming getting a billion votes in the NBA just because he's Chinese and his entire country votes for him.  Or Ichiro having all of Japan vote online.  Flaws in the system when players get hurt. Pujols almost won a starting spot until the last week of voting!  He's been hurt for a month and has been having a tough year.  So why are people voting for them?

Because people are stupid.

The Positive Side of not having an NFL season

Increased productivity in America's workforce and increase in GDP. That's right. Every week, US Employers lose an average of $1.1 Billion dollars per week in worker productivity. And that's only assuming they spend 10 minutes a day on their team. On another note did you guys see Steve Breston's poem "A League Deferred"? Took me a bit to get through his twang, but as you can see some players are not greedy bastards and understand that it really is the fans that are losing out. The best line for me "I tell the kids to Play 60 when I might not play a minute." Here's the link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-1tPoZLDE_w

The Case for Atlanta- America's Team...in the '90's

Did the 'ol type an entire post and then close out the windows on my computer before hitting "Send."  Yup...So I'll try again.

I started collecting baseball cards in 1991.  Fleer was my first pack.  Yellow cards, simple, yet right away the greatest possesion of my life.  I love seeing those yellow Fleer cards from that year.  Signifies everything that is baseball to me.  Opening a pack, looking at stats on the back of the card.  Reading the tiny two line bios on the players.  Hoping, wishing, dreaming that I'll get an insert in the pack.  Which back then an "insert" was just a cartoonish picture of the guys in black though.  Either way, finding one of those in a pack was like finding a $20 bill in your laundry as an adult.  Pure bliss. 

1991 meant a lot of things for baseball.  The Pittsburgh Pirates won 98 games behind Jim Leyland's team of Barry "Skinny Girl" Bonds, Andy Van Slyke, Bobby Bonilla, Orlando Merced, Jay Bell, Jeff King, Doug Drabek, Zane Smith and John Smiley's 20 Wins.  Remember those guys?  They were a force to be reckoned with the next year too but they were not the only team to start winning.

The Atlanta Braves were dead last in the NL West (yes...the NL West) in 1990.  They went on to win 94 games and beat the Dodgers to be the first team since 1890 to go from last to first the following year.  The 1991 Twins did it the same year oddly enough.  Puckett...Game 6.  Superhero.  Jack Morris=Great American Stud.

1991 was the beginning of a Dynasty for the Braves.  We were "forced" to watch them on TV because they were owned by Ted Turner who in turn owned TBS.  They were ALWAYS on like the Cubs on WGN or Yankees on YES or Red Sox on NESN.  You just watched them because they were on.  Well...Noah and I didn't because we only had CBS, ABC, and NBC but that was only in the winter and well..never mind.  We grew up in Vermont.  Everyone else in America had TBS and watched the Braves.  It's a big reason there are so many Braves fans to this day just like there being so many Yankee fans.  That and winning.  And the Braves won a lot of games in the '90's.

Unfortunately they did not win a lot of playoff games or at least the really big ones in the World Series when it really counted.  They went on to win in 1995 over the stud Indians (Kenny Lofton, Omar Visquel, Manny Rameriz, Albert Belle, Eddie Murray, Jim Thome, Paul Sorrento, Tony Pena, Carlos Baerga ring any bells???  100 win season.  First WS appearance since 1954.)  but would not win again despite so many amazing seasons throughout the decade.  For those that need a refresher here's a little take on their players over the years...

Otis Nixon, Jeff Blauser, Terry Pendelton (MVP), Ron Gant, David Justice (married Halle Berry...), Fred "Crime Dog" McGriff, Javy Lopez, Chipper Jones, Mark Lemke, Marquis Grissom.  Just a few but maybe one more?  Sid Bream.  Who can forget the slide at the plate to beat his former team, the Pittsburgh Pirates in '92 Game 7 NLCS.  Amazing.  Still to this day the slowest man alive. 

The pitching though is what led this team to greatness.  Greg Maddux came on to the team in '92 and would go on to win 3 more Cy Youngs and four consecutively.  He joined Tom Glavine and John Smoltz and Steve Avery.  Later it would be Kevin Millwood and Denny Neagle filling in the last spot winning 15-20 games (Neagle won 20 games in '97 as the fourth starter...)  The Braves rotation pitched into the top 5 of nearly every pitching category every year.  Here's a little proof:

Dating back to 1990, the Braves rotations have produced five of the 10 best ERAs compiled by a club's starting pitchers during a specific season. They actually own the top three marks ('92, '97 and '98) within this span.
The 1995 bunch that celebrated Atlanta's lone World Series championship actually posted the highest ERA (3.25) among those five clubs.
Ironically, the best ERA compiled by an NL club's starters dating back to 1990 is the 2.98 mark posted by the '92 Braves, who were still a few months away from adding that Maddux guy to their quintet.
The 1992 Atlanta rotation was led by Glavine's second consecutive 20-win season and the 15-win campaigns posted by Smoltz and 35-year-old Charlie Leibrandt. The group's success was strengthened by the fact that Pete Smith managed to go 7-0 with a 2.10 ERA in 11 starts.
The 1998 Braves rotation combined for an NL-record 90 wins and posted a 3.06 ERA. Glavine (20-6, 2.47) won his second Cy Young Award while Maddux (18-9, 2.22) and Smoltz (17-3, 2.90) finished tied for fourth. Neagle's 16 wins ranked fifth, sitting just behind the 17 wins notched by Millwood.
As successful as the 1998 rotation was, there are some who will say the '97 Atlanta quintet, which posted a 3.05 ERA, might have actually been better. This group combined for 1,096 2/3 innings -- the most completed by any NL club dating back to '90, and third-most since '80.
Maddux ranked fourth on the '97 squad with 232 2/3 innings (a number that would have ranked third in the entire NL this past season) and Smoltz ranked fourth with his 3.02 ERA. Neagle went 20-5 with 2.97 ERA and still finished third in the NL Cy Young Award balloting behind winner Pedro Martinez and Maddux, who went 19-4 with a 2.20 ERA.
When the Braves returned to the World Series in 1999, they had a rotation that had posted a 3.67 ERA -- the highest mark compiled by their starters since the '90 season. Smoltz pitched with a torn ligament in his right elbow and both Glavine (14-11, 4.12) and Maddux (19-9, 3.57) encountered some rough patches.

This isn't even touching on the most magical part of baseball in all of the decade.

The Tomahawk Chop.

Nothing has matched it since and nothing probably ever will.  Watching those games with EVERY fan going absolutely nuts with the chop, the chant for every important and not important pitch made Brave's playoff games absolutely riviting, and mesmerizing.  The Braves came home to a team that supported them like no other and it was incredible to watch.  Sadly, I don't know that we'll ever get 50,000 Americans to pay attention to any one thing at the same time ever again to experience something like that. 

I'm sure some people will point to the Yankee's in the last half of the '90's as they were the ones that actually won World Series titles but let's face it, the best series the Yankees played was in 2001 which is a whole new decade therefore I'm not counting them.  The A's were a lot of fun to watch with the Bash Bro's and Dave Stewart staring people down before Eck came in to wash it up.  Twins were incredible with Puckett/Winfield/Morris stealing wins away from people.  Indians were super fun but for some reason I just never really got behind them. 

It also could be that I was a kid watching all these games.  Life was simpler.  Life was easy.  Life was baseball.  It was the day of baseball cards, wiffle ball bats off tennis balls, coming home at midnight to catch the Mariner's score and other West coast games, listening to Kay/Sterling on the radio while milking cows.  Life was different, not better, just different and watching the Braves all those years was some of the best baseball I remember seeing.  9 Straight Division Titles (would be 15 straight going into the 2000's).  You don't need WS Rings for that kind of dominance.  I'll leave you with this: