Gibson the Great: Rose, others recall the fearsome Cards ace

It was the summer of 1963, Bob Gibson was already well on his way to establishing himself as one of the most fearsome, intimidating pitchers in big league history. Pete Rose was a 22-year-old rookie, the cocky Cincinnati kid with a crew cut.

As Rose recalls that night in St. Louis, he was playing second base when Gibson hit a double early in the game.

“So I walk over, I don’t know any better, and I say, ‘What’d ya hit, Gibby?’ He’s bent over, got his hands on his knees, and he don’t say nothing. So I ask him again, ‘What’d ya hit, Gibby?’ Nothing,” the all-time career hits leader said Saturday.

Puzzled, Rose asked his manager about the exchange when the inning ended. Veteran skipper Fred Hutchinson scowled and warned him: “He don’t talk to the opposition during a game.”

The next afternoon, Rose was standing near the cage at Busch Stadium, watching the Cardinals take batting cage and studying the swings of stars Dick Groat, Curt Flood and Stan Musial.

“And here comes Gibson, going to the outfield,” Rose said. “He just walks by and says, ‘It was a slider, rook.‘”

The baseball world and beyond was talking about the great Bob Gibson, a day after the Hall of Fame ace died at 84 in his hometown of Omaha, Nebraska. He had been ill with pancreatic cancer.

His death came on the 52nd anniversary of perhaps his most overpowering performance when he set a World Series record that still stands by striking out 17 against Detroit in the 1968 opener.

“Bob Gibson was as fierce a competitor as ever stepped on a major league mound during his 17 seasons with the Cardinals, dominating in his craft in a way that few pitchers have been able to either before or since,” players’ union head Tony Clark said.

The stats are impressive: Over 250 wins...

source https://www.chron.com/sports/article/Gibson-the-Great-Rose-others-recall-the-15619279.php