Saturday Extra: Remembering Bob Gibson


Bob Gibson, who died of cancer Friday at 84, was as determined and fierce a competitor as ever worked from a mound. #45 in white and red, the greatest pitcher in Cardinals history, totaled 251 wins, 255 complete games and 3117 strikeouts in 17 St. Louis seasons.  He reached his peak in 1968. Sure, they called it the Year of the Pitcher. But they could have simply called it the Year of Bob Gibson. That season, alongside 22 wins, he posted a near-invisible ERA of 1.12 -- en route to both the Cy Young Award and being named National League MVP. He then struck out a record 17 in the opening game of the World Series. But, impressive as they are, those are just numbers.

The heart and soul of the '64-67-68 pennant winners, the Omaha native ruled the mound like a lion perched on a soaring rock. Cold blooded, totally focused, a man who delighted in staring down opposing batters. Gibson had that rare ability to turn it up a notch in the highest pressure situations. Want proof? He lost the first (1964) and last (1968) World Series games in which he pitched -- but in between, he won seven straight -- all of them, complete games.

As great as he was in baseball, Gibson was also a talented basketball player. He starred at Creighton University, but didn't draw much interest from the NBA, so he joined for the Harlem Globetrotters. Eventually, the Cardinals offered him enough of a bonus to have him commit to baseball.

The ultimate tough guy on the mound was a valued mentor in his later years. A pitching coach under Joe Torre with the Mets and Braves, he returned to the Cardinals as a Spring Training instructor and mentor to younger players.  He was in New York in 2008 to take part in the All Star Game parade up Avenue of the Americas. That's where I snapped this photo.

The one opponent Gibson couldn't beat was pancreatic cancer. He tenaciously fought it for more than a year before the "final out" occurred Friday.

Just remember that if pitching really is 90% of baseball, Bob Gibson symbolized what it means to be an over-achiever.

Comments

Bryan Nazario said…
One of the greatest of legends. You didn’t want to face him in a big game.
October 3, 2020 at 9:20 AM
Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Rare Remnant of a Lost Ballpark

Image
When the subject of baseball in Brooklyn comes up, the discussion centers around Ebbets Field, the Flatbush venue most famously home to The Boys of Summer.  Those legendary 1940s and '50s teams that featured such historic and beloved players as Jackie Robinson, Duke Snider, Pee Wee Reese, Roy Campanella and Gil Hodges. Ebbets Field hosted its last major league game in 1957 and was torn down during the winter of 1960. But decades earlier, just before World War One, the Dodgers were based in the Park Slope area and played at Washington Park.  Once they moved out, the land was occupied by another stadium, which housed a different franchise.  The upstart Federal League, which played in the 1914 and '15 seasons, had a Brooklyn team called the TipTops.  Owned by a local baking magnate Robert Ward, whose company produced TipTop bread, the club took over the abandoned lot along 3rd Avenue and built a new brick and steel venue. The only no-hitter in the Federal League's two...
Read more

Will He Wear Zero in the Bronx?

Image
The Yankees bolstered their starting rotation with Thursday's signing of Marcus Stroman .  The Long Island native, who spent 2019 and '21 with the Mets before moving onto the Cubs, brings a 77-76 career record to the Bronx, along with a recent loyalty to uniform number (?) zero.  If he requests that, he'd become the third Yank to wear it, following the path of Adam Ottavino and Domingo German.  Of course, neither of their Yankee tenures ended all that well -- Ottavino struggled badly in 2020, before reviving his career with the Red Sox and Mets; German's alcohol and domestic violence issues sabotaged such Yankee highlights as last year's perfect game. Can a number truly be lucky? You can understand kids in little league or high school ball wanting to wear 2 in honor of Derek Jeter or 7 for Mickey Mantle.  But is there an heroic ballplayer associated with 0?  The closest I recall comes from pro football, where the Oakland Raiders Hall of Fame center Jim Otto wore...
Read more

Spring Training Flashbacks: Subway Series, Florida Style - 2016

Image
It's a return visit to the Mets' Florida home in Port St. Lucie, this time for a 2016 showdown with the Yankees. (Below), Joe Girardi and Brian Cashman chat during batting practice. Aaron Judge and Rob Refsnyder have their game faces on in the dugout... though neither would be in the starting lineup. (Above) A couple of Brooklyn natives that made their mark in New York baseball -- Lee Mazzilli and John Franco. (Below) Mets pitcher Josh Smoker makes friends by signing a few autographs. (Above) Mets reliever Jeurys Familia; (Below) 2nd baseman Neil Walker (Above) Curtis Granderson, one of the select few players to star for both the Yankees and Mets, getting ready for his third summer at Citi Field. (Below) Aaron Hicks came to the Yankees in a trade the previous November. 3rd baseman Chase Headley enjoying the Grapefruit League vibe, even against Mets ace Jacob deGrom. (Above) Mets slugger Yoenis Cespedes watches where he hit one... so does Joe Girardi from the visitor's dugou...
Read more