sports RIP, Bob Gibson

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He’ll be remembered most for that which can’t be measured or even accurately explained. Sure, we have plenty of facts and figures we can use to celebrate the great baseball career of Bob Gibson -- the wins, strikeouts, shutouts, Cy Youngs, Gold Gloves and the World Series superlatives.

But it’s the competitiveness Gibson conveyed and the intimidation he inspired that truly shaped his legacy in this sport. And those are the qualities that we remember most now that he passed away Friday after a battle with pancreatic cancer. He was 84. The Cardinals, the team on which he spent his entire 17-year career, confirmed the news Friday night.

Gibson's passing comes on the anniversary of one of his greatest games -- his 17-strikeout performance in Game 1 of the World Series on Oct. 2, 1968 -- and less than a month after the death of Lou Brock, a fellow Hall of Famer and Cardinals teammate from 1964-75.

How does one describe what made Gibson one of the greats? His old teammate Joe Torre was once asked that question.

“Try pride, intensity, talent, respect, dedication,” Torre said. “You need them all.”

https://www.mlb.com/news/bob-gibson-dies-at-84

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One of the most ferocious competitors in all of baseball, Bob Gibson was a force throughout his 17-year career, all with the Cardinals. The accolades he achieved are stunning.

1. 9-time All-Star, including in 1962 when they played two All-Star Games.
2. Despite his long windup and follow-through, he was an excellent defender, racking up nine Gold Gloves.
3. Finished with a career 89.2 Baseball-Reference WAR, including three consecutive seasons (1968-'70) of a bWAR of 10 or above, a Hall-of-Fame peak. In those three years, he accumulated a Wins Above Replacement of 11.9, 11.3, and 10.1, respectively.
4. At the time of retirement, for pitchers with 200 or more wins, he was among the last to finish with more complete games (255) than career wins (251).
5. Finished his career with a 2.91 ERA, good for a career 127 Adjusted ERA+.
6. Pitched more than 275 regular-season innings in a season seven straight times.
7. Pitched more than 300 regular-season innings in a season twice (1968 & '69).
8. In 1968 (The Year of the Pitcher), Gibson had, arguably, the greatest season ever for a pitcher.
   1. NL-high 268 K's,
   2. Won 22 games,
   3. Completed 28 games,
   4. Allowed one (earned) run or fewer in 24 of his 34 starts,
   5. Pitched at least 7 innings in all of them,
   6. Threw 9 or more innings in all but eight of his 34 starts that year,
   7. Pitched into the tenth five times (completing four of them),
   8. At the end of the year, finished with a 1.12 ERA, the lowest for any starter in the live-ball era,
   9. Won the Cy Young and MVP, the last NL pitcher to win the latter award until Clayton Kershaw in 2014.
9. Was always a proficient hitter for a pitcher, hitting 24 career homers in the regular season and two in the World Series.
10. When the lights shone the brightest, Gibson was at his best.
    1. Pitched eight complete games in his nine career World Series starts.
    2. Threw seven consecutive complete-game victories (a record considered unbreakable in today's climate), including two Game-7 CG's in 1964 and '67, earning World Series MVP in both.
    3. Game 1 of the 1968 World Series against the Tigers was the best start in his career. Allowed 5 hits, pitched a shutout, struck out a current-record 17 batters, finished with an elite Game Score of 93.
11. In 1923, Walter Johnson became the first man to strike out 3,000 batters, finishing with 3,508 in 1927. No one else would join the 3,000-K club until Bob Gibson in 1974, 51 years later. Gibson finished his career with 3,117, retiring after the 1975 season.
12. At the time of retirement, his 251 career wins were the most ever by a Black Major-League pitcher. His number would be eclipsed by eventual HoFer Fergie Jenkins (the first Canadian elected into Cooperstown), who won 284. His 251-win total is tied for first among African-American pitchers; CC Sabathia matched him last year.
13. Holds the franchise record in wins, strikeouts, and complete games and is the greatest Cardinal pitcher of all time.
14. Elected into the Hall of Fame in his first year of eligibility in 1981 and voted into Baseball's All-Century Team in 1999.

He was a giant on the mound. Thoughts to his friends, family, and Cardinal fanbase.