I think those of us in the Group of Elders who inhabit this board would agree that Gibson was among the best--and probably the best--pitcher we saw in our youth. Absolutely electric stuff and he aggressively applied it. I think that's why many in my demographic get frustrated when we watch young pitchers with promising stuff not go after hitters. Of course, it's a different era and the art of hitting, smaller stadiums, and properties of the baseball have all tilted the game toward the hitter so maybe Gibson's approach wouldn't have netted the same results now (and we forget that these young pitchers aren't Bob Gibson).
His performance in 1968 was legendary. 1.12 ERA is still the all-time best in the modern era. Granted, it was The Year of the Pitcher, but for that season he was THE pitcher.
And let it be said that he was in a totally different era when it came to bat flips and staring down home runs. I frankly don't give a crap about who does what after they hit a HR (I find most of it pretty silly), but Hank Aaron gave Dusty Baker this advice about facing Bob Gibson:
“Don’t stare at him, don’t smile at him, don’t talk to him. If you happen to hit a home run, don’t run too slow, don’t run too fast. If you happen to want to celebrate, get in the tunnel first.” Not following advice like that would usually put you on the seat of your pants in your next AB.
A lot of Braves' fans are unaware that Gibson was the Braves' pitching coach under Joe Torre.
So Gibson in a nutshell. Fantastic athlete. Peerless competitor. Probably the most exciting pitcher to watch I've ever seen. When he was on the mound, he was the game.
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