MINOR LEAGUE DAYS- BOB GIBSON

Next up in my new thread of 1971 “Minor League Days” is the great Bob Gibson, St. Louis Cardinals legend and Hall of Famer, who was just about to kick-off an amazing MLB career that brought in every award possible over the next 17 years:

The 23-year-old appeared in 24 games for the Omaha Cardinals in 1959, going 9-9 with an earned run average of 3.07 over 135 innings, striking out 98 while walking 70.
That same season he’d get his first taste of the Big Leagues, appearing in 13 games and going 3-5 with a nice 3.33 ERA in 75.2 innings.
Over the rest of his brilliant career, he would settle for 251 wins as a Cardinals ace, along with 3117 strikeouts (only the second pitcher ever to reach that mark), 56 shutouts and a brilliant 2.91 E.R.A.
Let’s not forget that the man could field as well, as seen by his nine Gold Gloves, along with the fact that he could hit too, with 24 homers and 144 runs batted in over his 17-year career!
A legend of the game, he was a “gimmie” for the Hall of Fame once eligible in 1981, getting named on 337 of 401 ballots cast.
Stories of Gibson’s fierce competitive streak are legendary, and I love each and every one of them!