For those of us who were introduced to baseball in the 60′s, there were few players who could make a bigger impression than Bob Gibson. It was amazing to watch Gibby work, throwing so hard with that crazy-ass delivery that you expected his arm to come flying off with each pitch. And mean? There might not be many guys who could whip Ty Cobb in an bar-fight, but I’d put my money on Gibson in a heartbeat. Just how mean Gibson was (and probably still is) can be illustrated by this classic story.
Gibby quit the game in 1975 after giving up a grand-slam to Chicago Cub first baseman Pete LaCock (son of Peter Marshall of Hollywood Squares fame, if you didn’t know). LaCock was, at best, a journeyman ballplayer, the kind of hitter who wouldn’t have stood a chance against Gibson in the 60′s.
“When I gave up a grand slam to Pete LaCock,” Bob Gibson said later, “I knew it was time to quit.”
Ten years later, Gibson is pitching in an old-timers game at Wrigley Field, when who should come up to bat? Why it’s Pete LaCock! Does Gibby remember? Does he still care?
He drilled him – first pitch.
Bob Gibson: one a kind.
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Roger Clemens is about the closest thing we’ve got to Gibson lately…he’s pretty old school, steroids (allegedly) aside.
Growing up with a Cardinals-loving father, I heard many awesome stories about the greatness of Bob Gibson. Bud Selig may disagree, but baseball needs more people like him today, just not ‘roid-ragers like Clemens.
Oh, nice Peter Marshall nod, too. Always loved that about LaCock, whose last name should have been more of a source for amusement as a kid.
Floyd Here: Isn’t LaCock French for The Cock?
[...] It’s Too Cold For Baseball, But What the Hell [...]
I guess payback is a Gibby pitch.
I won a baseball signed by Mickey Mantle for answering a trivia question about Pete LeCoq.
I won a snow cone once for returning a foul ball to the concession stand.
Also, being an Astros fan I watched Clemens pitch alot while he was there (even while I was in teh sandbox I caught some games)…you can dismiss him as a roid rager, but I saw him do something very similar if not identical to trzupr’s amusing antidote.
Interesting that. If your Clemens your a steroid popping lout (not proven), but if you’re Bob Gibson you’re an interesting old school hard nosed ball player.
If you don’t like Clemens that’s fine, but from my personal observations (I even saw him in college) he plays with a lot of old school attitude.
Points taken, Outlaw. Up till the ‘roid allegations, I stood by him 100% as a true old school kinda guy. Now I just shake my head at him the way I do with all those assjacks who took advantage of an F’ed up time in baseball, “commissioner,” too many owners and players all included.
Just so we’re clear I don’t approve of the use of steroids, and if you believe he’s guilty that’s fine too, but he hasn’t been found guilty of anything yet…yet.
It seems almost certain that Clemens used steroids, and having his wife try to take the fall is not a stand up move, but it is a shame he has been tainted by this. He is definitely a guy with the talent and conditioning to do all he’s done without the “juice.”
It looks like a case of greed; an incredibly gifted and hard-working athlete who had it all but couldn’t stop there. I have always respected him for how hard he works.
I’ll take Satchel Paige over these guys any day.
Josh Gibson, too.
Dickie Noles was a pitcher for the Cubs who nobody accused of taking steroids. He had the physique of Wilbur Woods. He eventually admitted to having a drinking problem and confessed that in his prime he was drinking a case of beer a day; while still a regular in the rotation!
Some of my buddies in College were so imppressed by that stat that they decided to host a “Dickie Nole’s Day” where all 5 of them tried to drink a case of beer in 24 hours. Only one guy made it.
I would imagine that Mr. Page has lost some zip on his fastball by now. j/k
Nolan Ryan
Nolan is the genuine article. No doubt about it.
Clemens and Bonds, the two prime cases of what you mention being gifted, Rufus. Fortunately, I have much fonder memories of Griffey Jr. and Maddux in the 90s and 00s, injuries and all. Not as frustrating as when my ’82 all-star team got whupped by a team fielding Juniors Griffey and Rose, though. That’s a whole story unto itself. Let’s just say there was no party in my team’s mouth and nobody was invited.
I saw Nolan Ryan pitch at a Twins game. His fastball was almost invisible. I don’t know how anyone hit it. And probably that day in Minnesota (when Minnesota was still a real state) no one did.
I saw a double header in the Astrodome when Ryan was with the Astos where he and JR Richards were the two Astros starters…talk about some leather popping.
The sound travelled a lot slower.
Ok since I know diddly poo about baseball I will pick Nolan Ryan. I do remember him well.
My hero was always Harmon Killebrew. I still have an autographed picture from him. And somewhere in the family is a broken Bob Allison bat.
I got to see Hank Aaron homer for the Brewers against the Rangers.
Gibson v. Cobb… Cobb was really old school. He’d win.
Jim Kaat. I’ll say no more on this subject.
By the way, it’s never too cold for baseball. Unless you’ve got one of those aluminum bats in your hand that is, but I don’t think there’s anyone here who would admit to one of those tools of the devil.
I have one for home protection… strictly wood for fungoes.
Ah, this post is making me misty-eyed for the days when the Reds were actually good.
You mean the early 90s when they took down the ‘Roid Brothers? Bwah-hahahahaha!!!