Let's delve back about 10 years here on the blog and
revisit my "missing" 1971 card for former pitcher Joe Gibbon of the
Pittsburgh Pirates:
In 1970 Gibbon actually got into 41 games for the Pirates, good for 41 innings of work as an arm out of the 'pen.
He posted an 0-1 record with a 4.83 earned run average and five saves with 26 strikeouts.
Seems like enough action to warrant a card, no?
Funny enough by the time the 1971 season opened he was a member of
the Cincinnati Reds, before closing out his 13-year career with the
Astros by the end of the 1972 season.
His finest season would arguably be his second, back in 1961 when
he posted a 13-10 record with a 3.32 E.R.A., three shutouts and 145
strikeouts over 195.1 innings of work in 29 starts.
Generally however, the bulk of his career was out of the bullpen,
and by the time he retired he had a record of 61-65, with a 3.52 E.R.A.,
four shutouts, 32 saves and 743 strikeouts over 419 games, 127 of which
were starts.
