I was born too late to view Babe Ruth hit a homer in Yankee Stadium but I did get a chance to see Bob Gibson pitch. When I was eight years old, Gibson, who pitched for the St. Louis Cardinals, absolutely ruled the sport of baseball. His dominance was so great that after the end of that 1968 season, Major League Baseball changed the rules of the game to help the hitters. First, they lowered the pitching mound by five inches and then they shrunk the strike zone, moving it from the batters armpits to the jersey letters. All of these changes were designed to help only one position, the hitter. These rules became known as the "Gibson Rules".
To watch Gibson pitch was like watching another generational talent like Mohammed Ali or Michael Jordan. Their shared traits were a confidence that was undeniable, matched with a competitive fire that was a force of nature, and raw talent given to them straight from God's imagination. Throw in their undisputed work ethic and sports history was changed because of their greatness. Let's dial in for a minute and check out just some of the records held by Bob Gibson:
- Nine Gold Gloves (this is third all-time among pitchers)
- 1.12 Single-Season Earned Run Average during the 1968 season.
- National League Shutout Championships in Live-Ball Era - He had 5 shutouts in 1962, 5 in 1966, 13 in 1968 and 5 in 1971. He shares this record with Warren Spahn (Atlanta Braves).
- Most Strikeouts during a World Series Game - 17 Strikeouts in Game 1 of the 1968 World Series.
- In 1968, he not only won the Cy Young award, he also was named the Most Valuable Player in the National League.
- He struck out 3,117 batters which is 14th all-time among MLB pitchers.
The man who was Bob Gibson can't be defined by just statistics. His competitive fire turned up a notch during the playoffs. He only lost two of his postseason starts out of nine against the best hitters in the world. But one of the main reasons he is admired today is because of his toughness, the way he violently threw the baseball, and his total focus on the job at hand. Just like classic cars, they don't make pitchers like that anymore. Check out some of these stories from his peers:
Pete Rose tells a story about asking Gibson a question during a game and getting no response. Pete asked his manager if Gibson was deaf. His skipper replied, 'He doesn't talk to the enemy'.
Dick Allen describes Gibson this way, "Gibson was so mean, he'd knock you down and then meet you at home plate to see if you wanted to make something of it." Bill White was Gibson's close friend when they played together at St. Louis. White got traded to the Phillies and in his first at bat against his former teammate, Gibson fired a fastball inside, hitting White on the arm. White yelled at him as he made his way to first base, "What are you doing Bob?! We were teammates for years!" Gibson replied, "Not anymore!"
Gibson was the ultimate competitor and he tolerated no one infringing on his pitching process. He was an assassin on the mound and even his catcher, Tim McCarver, feared going to the mound. McCarver relates the story of him going to the mound early in his career and Gibson stopping him before he could even say anything. "The only thing you know about pitching is you can't hit it." Gibson growled to McCarver. McCarver didn't make another trip out to the mound when Gibson was pitching for years.
There are so many stories about the way that Gibson dominated the sport but this is one of my favorites. Dusty Baker, who played for the Atlanta Braves, said, "Hank Aaron told me 'Don't dig in against Gibson, he'll knock you down. He'd knock down his own grandmother if she challenged him at the plate. Don't stare at him, don't smile at him, and whatever you do, 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 have 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, What about my 17-game hitting streak?' That was the night it came to an end."
Pete Rose tells a story about asking Gibson a question during a game and getting no response. Pete asked his manager if Gibson was deaf. His skipper replied, 'He doesn't talk to the enemy'.
Dick Allen describes Gibson this way, "Gibson was so mean, he'd knock you down and then meet you at home plate to see if you wanted to make something of it." Bill White was Gibson's close friend when they played together at St. Louis. White got traded to the Phillies and in his first at bat against his former teammate, Gibson fired a fastball inside, hitting White on the arm. White yelled at him as he made his way to first base, "What are you doing Bob?! We were teammates for years!" Gibson replied, "Not anymore!"
Gibson was the ultimate competitor and he tolerated no one infringing on his pitching process. He was an assassin on the mound and even his catcher, Tim McCarver, feared going to the mound. McCarver relates the story of him going to the mound early in his career and Gibson stopping him before he could even say anything. "The only thing you know about pitching is you can't hit it." Gibson growled to McCarver. McCarver didn't make another trip out to the mound when Gibson was pitching for years.
There are so many stories about the way that Gibson dominated the sport but this is one of my favorites. Dusty Baker, who played for the Atlanta Braves, said, "Hank Aaron told me 'Don't dig in against Gibson, he'll knock you down. He'd knock down his own grandmother if she challenged him at the plate. Don't stare at him, don't smile at him, and whatever you do, 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 have 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, What about my 17-game hitting streak?' That was the night it came to an end."
The great one, Vin Scully had this to say about Gibson, "He pitches like he's double parked." Stan "The Man" Musial said that Gibson was the greatest competitor he had ever seen.
Then there is this story from Jim Ray Hart who played for the San Francisco Giants. "Between games, Willie Mays came over to me and said, 'Now, in the second game, you're going up against Gibson.' I only half-listened to what he was saying, figuring he was just being Willie. 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 hear Willie screaming from the dugout.'Noooooo!' Well, the first pitch came inside. No harm done, though. 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."
Then there is this story from Jim Ray Hart who played for the San Francisco Giants. "Between games, Willie Mays came over to me and said, 'Now, in the second game, you're going up against Gibson.' I only half-listened to what he was saying, figuring he was just being Willie. 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 hear Willie screaming from the dugout.'Noooooo!' Well, the first pitch came inside. No harm done, though. 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."
Bob Gibson, one of the greatest pitchers that I ever had the good fortune to watch play the game of baseball.
