Pitcher, St.
Louis Cardinals
Age: 34
12th
season with Cardinals
Bats – Right,
Throws – Right
Height: 6’1” Weight: 189
Prior to 1970:
A native of
Omaha, Nebraska, Gibson, who was sickly as a child, grew up playing sports at a
recreation center where his oldest brother was the program director. Moving on
to Omaha Technical High School, he starred on the basketball and track teams
and pitched and played in the outfield on the baseball squad. After high school
he tried for a basketball scholarship to Indiana University but was turned down
because the school indicated it had already filled its quota of black students.
He instead attended Creighton University where he set several school basketball
records and played baseball. As a senior he batted .333 as a
pitcher/outfielder/third baseman and posted a 6-2 pitching record. Recruited to
play for the Harlem Globetrotters following college, Gibson was also signed by
the Cardinals in 1957. Playing for teams at the Class A and AAA levels in ’57
he produced a combined 6-4 record with a 4.02 ERA. Gibson, now concentrating
totally on baseball, played for Class AAA Omaha and Rochester in 1958 and was a
combined 8-9 with a 2.84 ERA and 122 strikeouts over 190 innings, impressing
with his fastball. He bounced between the Cardinals and Class AAA in 1959 and
’60, hindered by the prejudice of St. Louis manager Solly Hemus. With improved
control of his fastball and slider, as well as a new manager in Johnny Keane,
who had confidence in Gibson, he produced a 13-12 record in 1961 with a 3.24
ERA and 166 strikeouts, as well as a league-leading 119 walks. With his control
improving Gibson was an All-Star in 1962 on his way to a 15-13 tally with a
2.85 ERA and 208 strikeouts and 95 walks before his season was cut short in
September by a broken ankle. Off to a slow start in 1963, Gibson still improved
his record to 18-9 with a 3.39 ERA and 204 strikeouts. The Cardinals won the NL
pennant in a close race in 1964 and Gibson contributed a 19-12 record with a 3.01
ERA and 245 strikeouts to the effort. In the World Series victory against the
Yankees he won two more games, against one loss, struck out 31 batters and was
named MVP of the Series. Manager Keane, his mentor, resigned following the
Series and was replaced by Red Schoendienst. The Cards had a lesser season in
1965 although Gibson went 20-12 with a 3.07 ERA and 270 strikeouts. Tall, lean,
intense, quiet and aloof, and a fierce competitor with an intimidating mound
presence who did not fraternize with players from other teams, he improved his
record to 21-12 in 1966 with a 2.44 ERA and 225 strikeouts. The Cardinals got
off to a fast start in 1967 and Gibson had a 10-6 record in mid-July when he
suffered a broken leg when struck by a line drive off the bat of Pittsburgh’s
Roberto Clemente. St. Louis stayed on track to win the pennant and Gibson
returned in September to win three more games, including the pennant-clincher.
He finished with a 13-7 mark and 147 strikeouts over 175.1 innings and a 2.98
ERA. In the World Series against the Boston Red Sox he won all three of his
starts, including the title-clinching seventh game, which were all complete
games. He had a 1.00 ERA and recorded 26 strikeouts over the course of his 27
innings pitched and was once again the Series MVP. With both a rising and
sinking fastball, slider, curve, and changeup, and always working at a fast
pace, he came into the 1968 season recognized as one of baseball’s best
pitchers. The Cardinals again won the NL pennant and, in a season dominated by
pitching, Gibson produced a 22-9 record with a 1.12 ERA, 13 shutouts, and 268
strikeouts, earning him NL MVP, as well as Cy Young, recognition. In the World
Series against Detroit, he set a World Series record in Game 1 with 17
strikeouts and added to his string of complete game wins before faltering in
Game 7. Nicknamed “Hoot” for movie cowboy Hoot Gibson, or “Gibby”, he received
a pay increase to $125,000, and he remained solid in 1969 while posting a 20-13
record with a 2.18 ERA and 269 strikeouts and topped the NL with 28 complete
games, although the Cardinals were no longer a first place team.
1970 Season Summary
Appeared in 40
games
P – 34, PH – 5,
PR – 1
[Bracketed
numbers indicate NL rank in Top 20]
Pitching
Games – 34
Games Started –
34 [12, tied with six others]
Complete Games
– 23 [2, tied with Gaylord Perry]
Wins – 23 [1,
tied with Gaylord Perry]
Losses – 7
PCT - .767 [2]
Saves – 0
Shutouts – 3 [6,
tied with eight others]
Innings Pitched
– 294 [3]
Hits – 262 [9]
Runs – 111 [19,
tied with Jim Bunning & George Stone]
Earned Runs – 102
[17, tied with Rick Wise & Pat Jarvis]
Home Runs – 13
Bases on Balls
– 88 [15]
Strikeouts – 274
[2, tied with Ferguson Jenkins]
ERA – 3.12 [4]
Hit Batters – 4
Balks – 1 [14,
tied with many others]
Wild Pitches – 5
Midseason
Snapshot: 12-4, ERA - 3.54, SO - 156 in 152.2 IP
---
Most
strikeouts, game – 16 (in 9 IP) at Philadelphia 5/23
10+ strikeout
games – 7
Fewest hits
allowed, game (min. 7 IP) – 1 (in 9 IP) at San Diego 6/17
Batting
PA – 124, AB – 109,
R – 14, H – 33, 2B – 3, 3B – 1, HR – 2, RBI – 19, BB – 8, SO – 25, SB – 0, CS –
2, AVG - .303, GDP – 4, HBP – 0, SH – 6, SF – 1
Fielding
Chances - 58
Put Outs – 22
Assists – 32
Errors – 4
DP – 3
Pct. - .931
Awards & Honors:
NL Cy Young
Award: BBWAA
NL Pitcher of
the Year: Sporting News
Gold Glove
All-Star
4th
in NL MVP voting (110 points, 33% share)
NL Cy Young
voting (Top 5):
Bob Gibson,
StL.: 118 points – 23 of 24 first place votes, 98% share
Gaylord Perry,
SF: 51 points – 1 first place vote, 43% share
Ferguson
Jenkins, ChiC.: 16 points – 13% share
Dave Giusti,
Pitt.: 8 points – 7% share
Jim Merritt,
Cin.: 8 points – 7% share
---
Cardinals went
76-86 to finish fourth in the NL Eastern Division, 13 games behind the
division-winning Pittsburgh Pirates. After getting off to a 7-2 start, the
Cardinals sputtered, especially during a miserable 8-21 July. An August upsurge
was not enough to pull the club into contention in the NL East. Other than
Gibson, the pitching was spotty, with the bullpen a particularly weak area.
Aftermath of 1970:
Gibson slipped to 16-13 in 1971 although he pitched his only career no-hitter against Pittsburgh. Gibson had his last All-Star season in 1972, going 19-11 with a 2.46 ERA and 208 strikeouts. The Cardinals rebounded from a dreadful start in 1973 to move into contention in the NL East but Gibson suffered a knee injury in August and the Redbirds came up short. His record was 12-10 with a 2.77 ERA and 142 strikeouts over 195 innings. “Gibby” fell off to 11-13 in 1974, his first losing record since 1960, as his ERA rose to 3.83. Pitching poorly at age 39 in 1975, he was relegated to the bullpen and retired in frustration prior to the end of the season. For his major league career, played entirely with the Cardinals, he compiled a 251-174 record and a 2.91 ERA with 255 complete games, 56 shutouts, and 3117 strikeouts over 3884.1 innings pitched. Gibson had five 20-win seasons. Pitching in 9 World Series games, he compiled a 7-2 record with 92 strikeouts over the course of 81 innings that included 8 complete games. His seven wins were consecutive as well as all of the complete games, and his 17-strikeout performance in Game 1 of the 1968 Series remains the single game World Series record. A good hitting pitcher, Gibson compiled 24 home runs with 144 RBIs over the course of his career and added two more home runs during World Series play. An excellent fielder despite an off-balance delivery, Gibson was awarded nine Gold Gloves. An eight-time All-Star, the Cardinals retired his #45 and he was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1981. A statue was erected in his honor outside Busch Stadium. Gibson went into broadcasting for a time following his playing career and later served as a pitching coach for the Braves under manager Joe Torre, a former teammate. He also served as a coach and special instructor for the Cardinals. Gibson died in 2020 at the age of 84.
---
Cy Young Profiles feature pitchers who were recipients of
the Cy Young Award by the Baseball Writers’ Association of America (1956 to
present). The award was presented to a single major league winner from its
inception through 1966 and from 1967 on to one recipient from each major league
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