Bob Gibson, R.I.P.

St. Louis Cardinals Hall of Fame pitcher Bob Gibson has passed away of pancreatic cancer. He was 84.

Gibson's passing comes less than a month after that of his longtime Cardinals teammate Lou Brock and just over a month after fellow Hall of Fame pitcher Tom Seaver. 

A native of Omaha, Nebraska, Gibson overcame childhood asthma to become a successful high school baseball and basketball player. Gibson even played for the Harlem Globetrotters before signing with the Cardinals in 1957. Two years later, Gibson made his big league debut. It took awhile for Gibson to become a premier pitcher making his first of 9 NL All-Star Teams in 1962.

Gibson truly put himself on the baseball map in the 1964 World Series when the Cardinals defeated the Yankees for their first Fall Classic title in 18 years. His two wins and a home run in that Series earned him World Series MVP honors. Three years later, Gibson would win another World Series MVP when he won three games and hit a home run against the Boston Red Sox. Apart from his success, Gibson was known for his intensity and intimidation on the mound and didn't hesitate to plunk batters who got too comfortable in the batter's box.

But the pinnacle of Gibson's career came in 1968. That year Gibson went 22-9 and posted a MLB record ERA of 1.12. For good measure, he tossed 13 shutouts. One wonders how he lost nine games that year. (If you watch the video above, the ever competitive Gibby still fumed about that decades after the fact).

The icing on the cake was striking out 17 Detroit Tigers in Game 1 of the World Series. Although the Tigers would prevail in that Fall Classic, Gibson's performance in 1968 was such that MLB felt the need to lower the mound. Gibson would earn both the 1968 NL Cy Young Award and NL MVP.

Another Cy Young would come Gibson's way in 1970 when he won a career high 23 games. His lone no-hitter would follow in 1971. Gibson would retire following the 1975 season finishing his career with a record of 251-174 with 2.91 ERA, 3,117 strikeouts, 56 complete games, 9 Gold Gloves, 9 NL All-Star Team appearances and two World Series MVPs. 

Following his career, Gibson served as a pitching coach under his former Cardinals teammate Joe Torre during his managerial reins with the New York Mets, Atlanta Braves and, of course, the Cardinals. In between this, Gibson did some TV work with the Cardinals during the mid to late 1980's and worked for ESPN during the 1990 season. 

Gibson was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1981, his first year of eligibility, with 84% of the vote. 

Fans inside the Pearly Gates will now get to watch a pitching match up of Tom Seaver and Bob Gibson. R.I.P.