RIP to the Greatest Bluejay

[Omaha-Jays]

An absolute legend of Omaha, Creighton, baseball, and America passed today. Broke the color barrier for Creighton basketball and baseball, played for the Globetrotters for a season then went on to dominate on the mound for the Cardinals. My hometown will never see a more influential athlete. RIP Bob Gibson.

 

[dennismenace]

Gave new meaning to the word "Dominant" when on the mound. Truly a legendary player.

Bill White the NL commissioner, first baseman teammate and former Yankee announcer gave some good inside information on what it was like to be on his side of the field.

When Maurey Wills was stealing bases at will and got on base Gibson and White used to work pickoff moves and Gibson would repeatedly fire bullets a foot or so off the ground over to White. White would smack him in the head each time with the throws as he slid head first back to first. White laughed and said "we knew we couldn't really stop him so we tried to slow him down a bit."

There was none of the cordial exchanges between opponents when someone got on base like you see today.

As a Yankee fan at the time I was glad that he was in the other league.

 

[Umami Zen]

An excellent athlete who happened to be a HOF pitcher.. Loved the competition.. As MLB hitters used to say..He "owned" the inside of home plate.. Any opposing player trying to crowd the plate was usually hitting the dirt on the next pitch or two.. Was the gold standard for power pitching back in the day.. Many HOF pitchers who followed him "tried" to model their game around his..RIP

 

[TRest]

My favorite player as a kid. Still holds the record for ERA in a season I think (1.14 in 1968).

 

[Chin Diesel]

34-36 his first four seasons.
First AS game at age 26.
First CYA at age 32.

In today's games many a GM would have tried to turn him in to a closer rather than wait out development as a premier #1 starter.

Bob Gibson Stats, Height, Weight, Position, Rookie Status & More | Baseball-Reference.com

Check out the latest Stats, Height, Weight, Position, Rookie Status & More of Bob Gibson. Get info about his position, age, height, weight, draft status, bats, throws, school and more on Baseball-reference.com

www.baseball-reference.com

 

[HCCForever]

I didn’t realize that Gibson played hoops. I was a youngster in 1967 when Bob dominated the Sox in the World Series with 3-0 record. Starters don’t usually pitch 3 games in the series anymore. He was a big reason they lowered the mound after 1968

 

[dennismenace]

Here is another article which gives you an idea of how tough a competitor Bob Gibson was:

Bob Gibson, Cardinals Hall of Fame pitcher, dead at 84

Hall of Famer Bob Gibson, the dominating St. Louis Cardinals pitcher who won a record seven consecutive World Series starts and set a modern standard for excellence when he finished the 1968 season…

nypost.com

 

[Waquoit]

My favorite player as a kid. Still holds the record for ERA in a season I think (1.14 in 1968).

1.12, I always had that memorized for some reason.

 

[HCCForever]

This was taken from the above article and shows his competitiveness stayed with him.

He retired after 1975, humiliated in his final appearance when he gave up a grand slam home run to the Chicago Cubs’ Pete LaCock. (When the two faced off a decade later, at an old-timers game, Gibson beaned him).

I read another quote that he hated all-star games since he had to talk to guys that he spent the rest of the season trying to kick their butts.

He also hit 24 homers and in 1970 he won 20 games and batted .300.

 

[Dream Jobbed 2.0]

One of those people who seems so mythical it’s crazy to think I shared a timeline with them

 

[Stinger92860]

I love this quote by Hank Aaron. These guys used no PEDs.

”Don’t dig in against Bob Gibson; he’ll knock you down,” Aaron said, according to the Boston Globe. “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.”

 

[Watchdog]

Gave new meaning to the word "Dominant" when on the mound. Truly a legendary player.

Bill White the NL commissioner, first baseman teammate and former Yankee announcer gave some good inside information on what it was like to be on his side of the field.

When Maurey Wills was stealing bases at will and got on base Gibson and White used to work pickoff moves and Gibson would repeatedly fire bullets a foot or so off the ground over to White. White would smack him in the head each time with the throws as he slid head first back to first. White laughed and said "we knew we couldn't really stop him so we tried to slow him down a bit."

There was none of the cordial exchanges between opponents when someone got on base like you see today.

As a Yankee fan at the time I was glad that he was in the other league.

With an average salary in the $30,000 to $40,000 range in the early 70's, nobody was cordial because their livelihood depended on beating the other guy. It took until the late 60's to get average salaries above $20,000, so most of the MLB players had off-season jobs to survive. With free agency salaries exploded. Take a look at the chart below:

Average Baseball Salary

Average Baseball Salary

www.espn.com

 

[HCCForever]

With an average salary in the $30,000 to $40,000 range in the early 70's, nobody was cordial because their livelihood depended on beating the other guy. It took until the late 60's to get average salaries above $20,000, so most of the MLB players had off-season jobs to survive. With free agency salaries exploded. Take a look at the chart below:

Average Baseball Salary

Average Baseball Salary

www.espn.com

Peter Gammon’s book Beyond The Sixth Game describes this pretty well. Much different nowadays.

 

[storrsroars]

34-36 his first four seasons.
First AS game at age 26.
First CYA at age 32.

In today's games many a GM would have tried to turn him in to a closer rather than wait out development as a premier #1 starter.

Bob Gibson Stats, Height, Weight, Position, Rookie Status & More | Baseball-Reference.com

Check out the latest Stats, Height, Weight, Position, Rookie Status & More of Bob Gibson. Get info about his position, age, height, weight, draft status, bats, throws, school and more on Baseball-reference.com

www.baseball-reference.com

Well, he had to go through Koufax to win a CY earlier than 1967.

Surprisingly, Koufax and Gibby are the same age, but Koufax got to MLB 4 years before Gibby. And Koufax was far worse his first few years. Gibson's problem was a 5.0 BB/9 in his first 3 seasons/partial seasons. Can you imaging facing a wild Bob Gibson?

Dude was definitely the meanest SOB on a diamond in the 60s. Maybe not the best pitcher of the decade, but hard to think of anyone else you'd want on the mound starting Game 7 of the WS. Back when McCarver was broadcasting Mets games, he always had great Gibson stories when Mets faced the Cards.

 

[JCC1644]

Grew a Cardinal fan in Connecticut in the 60’s
Gibson was my favorite player

Great memories, game 7 win vrs the Yankees in 1964 , remember watching the game with my Dad who was a Yankee fan
The 67 series, winning game 7 and hitting. Homerun

favorite Gibson story is from Bill White, who was. Gibsons teammate and roommate
After White got traded to the Phillies , his first at bat vrs Gibson , Gibson drilled him in the ribs
As White walked to first, Gibson yelled at White that he looked too comfortable at the plate

 

[dvegas]

Bob Gibson had 251 wins and 255 complete games

 

[J-dog]

Well, he had to go through Koufax to win a CY earlier than 1967.

Surprisingly, Koufax and Gibby are the same age, but Koufax got to MLB 4 years before Gibby. And Koufax was far worse his first few years. Gibson's problem was a 5.0 BB/9 in his first 3 seasons/partial seasons. Can you imaging facing a wild Bob Gibson?

Dude was definitely the meanest SOB on a diamond in the 60s. Maybe not the best pitcher of the decade, but hard to think of anyone else you'd want on the mound starting Game 7 of the WS. Back when McCarver was broadcasting Mets games, he always had great Gibson stories when Mets faced the Cards.

always loved this McCarver quote re: Gibson...

“I remember one time going out to the mound to talk with Bob Gibson. He told me to get back behind the batter; that the only thing I knew about pitching was that it was hard to hit!”

 

[dennismenace]

Here is more from MLB video tribute:

 

[AZHuskiePop]

The biggest sure thing in sports was
Bob Gibson vs Detoit in game 7 of the 1968 series.
That’s my best example of why it’s stupid to bet on baseball. Even the greatest can’t guarantee a win.

 

[storrsroars]

The biggest sure thing in sports was
Bob Gibson vs Detoit in game 7 of the 1968 series.
That’s my best example of why it’s stupid to bet on baseball. Even the greatest can’t guarantee a win.

However, Lolich was no slouch. He pitched 3 CGs in that Series, giving up only 5 runs while K'ing 21 and walking only 6. I wouldn't have called that a "sure thing". We saw the same thing the following year when Koosman was the big game pitcher while Seaver faltered. Basically Lolich was Koosman to McLain's Seaver.