Bob Gibson Dies at 84
Bob Gibson, one of the most dominating and intimidating pitchers in baseball history, died Friday, October 2, after a battle with pancreatic cancer. Gibson was 84.
Gibson was known for his fastball, his control, and his intense concentration on the mound. Gibson played his entire major league career with the Saint Louis Cardinals of the National League. He became the second pitcher in baseball history to strike out 3,000 batters.
In 1968, Gibson authored one of the best single seasons for a pitcher in the modern era of baseball, which started in 1900. His 1.12 earned run average (ERA) set a major league record for a player who pitched at least 300 innings. He completed 28 of the 34 games he started and won 22 of them. He won both the Cy Young Award as the National League’s best pitcher and the National League’s Most Valuable Player award. He led the Cardinals to the World Series, but they lost in seven games to Al Kaline’s Detroit Tigers.
Gibson’s epic performance was part of an MLB-wide assault on offensive production that gave 1968 the nickname Year of the Pitcher. Other pitchers, including Denny McLain, Juan Marichal, and Luis Tiant, had outstanding years. Getting a hit in a major league baseball game—difficult at the best of times—became nearly impossible. Carl Yastrzemski of the Boston Red Sox led the majors with just a .301 batting average.
To stimulate run-scoring, MLB reduced the size of the strike zone and lowered the mound from 15 inches to 10 inches beginning with the 1969 season. The changes seemed to have little effect on Gibson, who posted a 2.18 ERA that year. He lost out on the Cy Young award to Tom Seaver, who led the hitherto-shiftless New York Mets to an improbable World Series championship. Gibson won another Cy Young in 1970, however.
Gibson was an all-around player. From 1965 to 1973, he won nine consecutive Gold Glove awards for his fielding. He was also a better hitter than most pitchers and ended his career with 24 regular-season home runs. Gibson compiled an outstanding record in World Series competition. He won a total of seven games in the Series of 1964, 1967, and 1968, with an earned run average of 1.89. He struck out 92 batters in 81 innings.
Gibson was a fierce competitor who did not care to fraternize with players from other teams during his career. He gained infamy for his willingness to pitch inside to—or even purposefully hit—batters in response to any perceived slight, or to simply establish his control of the strike zone. After Gibson retired, he became more open and friendlier to interviewers and former players. He stated that he cultivated his churlish image as a way to intimidate his opponents.
Pack Robert Gibson was born in Omaha, Nebraska on Nov. 9, 1935. He attended Creighton University in Omaha on a basketball scholarship. Gibson signed with the Cardinals in 1957 and played for their minor league team in Omaha. He also played a season with the Harlem Globetrotters basketball team. Gibson pitched part of the 1959 and 1960 seasons with St. Louis and became a regular in 1961. He retired during the 1975 season with 251 career wins and 3,117 strikeouts. Gibson was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1981.