Bob Gibson

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RonCo
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Bob Gibson

Post by RonCo » Sat Oct 03, 2020 12:12 am

God dammit.
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Re: Bob Gibson

Post by Ted » Sat Oct 03, 2020 1:02 am

So, I have some thoughts.

Here's the thing for me. Lou was fun. He was a fun, great ballplayer. I never saw him play, but he was all that is youthful and summer and fun about baseball. Stan was a legend. When he died, it was hard to relate This giant from yesteryear. Impossibly good from a time of impossible goodness.

Gibby was real. He was just a man. The very best man. The man we should all strive to be. But a man nonetheless. I never saw any of these guys play. But Bob Gibson is still real to me, and in my minds eye I can see him pitch.

I've seen footage of all three endlessly, of course, growing up in St. Louis. But again, Brock is magical fun in a way that doesn't translate as well to modern baseball, narrated today by stodgy old asshats who have sucked the joy from the game. I can't see him.

Stan again is a legend of a bygone time. It's hard to mesh the myth with anything that resembles modern baseball. I can't see him either.

Not Gibby though. I can see Gibby pitch to Mike Trout just as easily as I can see him staring down Hank Aaron or Willie Mays. He translates across eras, because there's nothing about him that is encapsulated by a particular time.

He was simply a good, honest if bluff, genuine if guarded, hard working man. Serious in his craft, kind in his private life. Everything we should all aspire to be.

There's a lot of dumb bullshit about "The Cardinal Way". Frankly, it is a bunch of made up junk that idiot announces have spewed for decades, ripping off "The Oriole Way" and attributing it to a bunch of undeserving coaches and managers and whatnot. That's all bullshit. The Cardinal Way is Bob Gibson. Show the fuck up. Do your god damn job. Don't talk shit. Don't give shit talkers the time of day. Give your best effort because to do less is to cheapen the journey. Do it with dignity, because to do less is to lessen yourself.

Maybe I'm putting words into the mans mouth. I don't know. But I don't think he'd disagree with anything I said. I never saw Bob Gibson play, and yet I can close my eyes and see him pitch, clear as day. The scowl, the focus, the big leg kick and arm flying through, the fall off towards first base. The dedication to craft, the competitiveness. It's all there. It's timeless and pure. Damn I'll miss him.
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Re: Bob Gibson

Post by aaronweiner » Sat Oct 03, 2020 7:25 am

A list of Bob Gibson quotes (there are some doozies):

https://www.baseball-almanac.com/quotes ... otes.shtml

Often forgotten among his unrivaled 1.12 ERA season is that he also threw 300 innings that year.

By the way, there are four modern pitchers who had a season with more wins above replacement than that 1968 season, too, but just two modern era pitchers within a half a point of that record.

https://www.baseball-reference.com/lead ... ason.shtml

https://www.baseball-reference.com/lead ... ason.shtml

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Re: Bob Gibson

Post by hetz23 » Wed Oct 21, 2020 1:21 pm

Just poking around the forums, huge Cards fan here. I'm too young to have seen Gibson but I loved Chris Carpenter, and I have the feeling even he was only half the competitor and big game pitcher Gibson was, which is a terrifying thought for opposing teams and hitters. RIP

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