The player: Bob Gibson was one of the greatest pitchers in baseball history. A tough competitor and team leader, Gibson was an eight-time All Star and two-time Cy Young winner, who finished his 17-year career, all with the Cardinals, with a 251-174 record, 3,117 strikeouts and a 2.91 ERA. One of the best postseason pitchers of all time, in nine World Series starts, all complete games, he went 7-2 with a 1.89 ERA. In 1968 he went 22-9, led the league with 268 strikeouts, and recorded a 1.12 ERA, a record for the lively-ball era. That season he struck out 17 batters in Game 1 of the World Series, also a record. He was also a terrific fielder, with nine gold gloves, and he could even hit a little, with a .206 average and 24 home runs. He even hit two home runs in World Series play.
The man: Gibson was a terrific athlete, good enough to play for the Harlem Globetrotters during the offseason when he was a minor leaguer. After his career, his close friend hired him to be his pitching coach when he managed the Braves and Cardinals. Other in baseball were rubbed the wrong way by Gibson's gruff demeanor, and he found it difficult to get jobs in baseball. He announced for a while, owned a restaurant and served on the board of directors of a bank, and invested in several other business ventures, including Donald Trump's attempt to create a rival baseball league in 1990. Gibson died of cancer in 2020.
My collection: I have Gibson's 1972, 1974 and 1975 Topps cards.
I've never heard of that attempted new league before. That really could've shook things up had it been able to get off the ground -- kind of like a modern Federal League.
ReplyDeleteIt's crazy that he still lost 9 games with a 1.12 ERA in 1968. My curiosity led me to do some research on Baseball Reference where I found these numbers.
ReplyDeleteGibson still only had a 2.14 ERA in his 9 losses with 19 walks and 77 K's. Wins? 0.57 ERA with 36 walks and 176 K's. What an amazing season.