Bob Gibson, RIP.

[JimInks]

A sad, sad day. My favorite pitcher of all time, Bob Gibson, passed away at age 84. If my life depended on winning a game, and I had to pick a pitcher to win it, it'd have been Gibson. Another piece of my childhood gone. Gibson died on the anniversary of his 17 strikeout World Series game in 1968. RIP.

 

[JimInks]

Bob Costas tells a GREAT story about Gibson.

 

[prndl]

Agreed, Jim.

One more childhood great gone.

 

[elpfeife]

Many years ago during a broadcast of a Dodgers-Cards game, Don Drysdale had Gibson in the booth to chat. Those two warriors went on about how the changes to the game were not something they liked - meaning the pitchers needed to be throwing at the hitters to let them know who was in charge of the plate. You could tell they were kindred spirits. It was the best in game conversation I have ever heard.

 

[dcon]

i am a lifetime, 3rd generation Cardinal fan. Bob Gibson was my all time favorite baseball player. RIP

 

[judcole]

A great for sure.
As a Tigers fan, though. I am glad we had Mickey Lolich - among others - and managed to win the '68 World Series even with Gibson pitching for the Cards.

 

[3rdguy]

Gibson was a beast for sure. At 84 he most likely would still put one in your ear if needed lol.
That old timer game story is hilarious. He was the type of player that the HOF should be made up of.

 

[trouttimes]

Events like this make me feel old...and sad.

 

[JimInks]

Gibson was a beast for sure. At 84 he most likely would still put one in your ear if needed lol.
That old timer game story is hilarious. He was the type of player that the HOF should be made up of.

I'll tell you almost as funny. Tim McCarver told the story about him and Gibson doing a fantasy camp. This guy in his 50s comes to bat, and Gibson knocks him down. McCarver walks out to the mound and said, "Bob, this is a fantasy camp, Why did you throw at him?" Gibson replied, "Nobody digs in at the plate on me."

 

[mso489]

I was a transfer student at University of Missouri in 1968 in the School of Journalism and caught down time in that rigorous department watching Bob Gibson pitch the 1968 World Series. What a total master of the art. He had a fascinating way of shifting his gaze an instant before he threw to refocus his eyes. It should have been a hopeless tell, but it enabled his unrelenting control of the ball. He had an iron shoulder and intimidating power. The pitcher of any hitter's nightmare. Amazing to see. RIP.

 

[B_Rock]

I was 9 years old and playing CYO ball and watched that World Series on the classroom TV. First male teacher I had was a big baseball fan and found a way around the nuns to turn on the games for “educational purposes”. Gibson was something to behold - but in addition to Lolich, the Tigers had Denny McClain and won in 7. How did the Cardinals lose that series with Brock, Flood, McCarver and Orlando Cepeda in that lineup?

 

[dcon]

I was 9 years old and playing CYO ball and watched that World Series on the classroom TV. First male teacher I had was a big baseball fan and found a way around the nuns to turn on the games for “educational purposes”. Gibson was something to behold - but in addition to Lolich, the Tigers had Denny McClain and won in 7. How did the Cardinals lose that series with Brock, Flood, McCarver and Orlando Cepeda in that lineup?

Flood made a fielding error in game 7 that cost the Redbirds the game/series and Gibson a likely 3rd World Series MVP.

 

[dcon]

Bob Costas tells a GREAT story about Gibson.

I have a similar story. I attended a Cards/Cubs Old-Timer’s game in the late 80’s (I cannot seem to recall the year). The Cub that was leading off against Gibby on the mound (I believe it might have been Glenn Beckert, I do remember it being a “softer hitting” Cub) knocked the first pitch just outside the right field foul pole, missing a home run by inches. As expected, the next pitch was headed right to the head before the batter bailed. The Busch Stadium crowd went wild. When I was a kid in the 60s, baseball was everything and Gibson was my hero. I grew up in a rural area of MO and never got to a Cardinal game until I was an adult. Luckily I was able to see a lot of my childhood favorites in that Old-Timer’s game. It is a great memory, despite the details fading

 

[Spinkle]

Long before my time, but having watched the Ken Burns documentary several times I can tell he was one of the greats. Baseball needs more personalities like him to keep things interesting. If I’m getting the proper story from the documentary he sounded almost like a prototype Roger Clemens, though again he was retired before I was born so maybe I’m totally off base.

 

[mso489]

I think the teacher who turned on the World Series for educational purposes was not just blowing smoke, so to speak. I definitely think watching that '68 Series was in my curriculum if not on my student record.

 

[hoosierpipeguy]

Agreed, Gibson was a fierce competitor. Was pretty good with the bat as well.

 

[JimInks]

A few great Gibson stories.
More than a legend: Bob Gibson's death leaves baseball world in mourning - https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/mlb/columnist/bob-nightengale/2020/10/03/bob-gibson-death-cardinals-mlb-baseball/3610804001/

 

[crawdad]

So sad to see the passing of one of the greats. I saw an interview with him and Goose and a hitter I can't remember atm. The hitter looked at Gibson and told how utterly intimidated he felt whenever he had to bar against him. Said Gibson would scowl and it innerved him all to hell. Gibson then told him he was having trouble with his eyesight and had to squint hard to see where he was throwing at!

My dad used Gibson when he taught me how to pitch. My dad loved Koufax more than anything and I emulated a lot of his style but he used Gibson to teach me to never, ever let a batter crowd the plate.

 

[warren]

One of the last of his kind, he could go nine innings, facing the same batters three or four times and getting them out. Today's pitchers aren't usually allowed to even try. Gibson could swing a bat also. One heck of a competitor! RIP Mr. Gibson.

 

[JimInks]

So sad to see the passing of one of the greats. I saw an interview with him and Goose and a hitter I can't remember atm. The hitter looked at Gibson and told how utterly intimidated he felt whenever he had to bar against him. Said Gibson would scowl and it innerved him all to hell. Gibson then told him he was having trouble with his eyesight and had to squint hard to see where he was throwing at!

My dad used Gibson when he taught me how to pitch. My dad loved Koufax more than anything and I emulated a lot of his style but he used Gibson to teach me to never, ever let a batter crowd the plate.

Many, many years back, my brother and I were on opposite teams in a game. Our pitcher was hurt, so I had to pitch. I wasn't good at it. He was best hitter on that team. The first time he came to bat, I hit him with a pitch. The second time he came up, I hit him again. He stared at me when he went to first base. The third time up he was expecting me to hit him again, and I could see he was expecting it when he said, "You'd better not hit me again, you [blank-blank]." I just smiled and threw a fast ball right over the plate while he stood there looking. Umpire calls "strike one!" People started laughing. He tenses up, starts gripping the bat hard, and I hit him with the next pitch. Players and people in the stands were laughing. The umpire was, too. My brother called me everything but his relative.