Bob Gibson
Gibson's 1968 season produced the most dominant pitching performance in modern baseball history — a 1.12 ERA that was so suffocating it forced MLB to lower the mound the following year. That microscopic number represents an ERA+ of 258, meaning he was more than two and a half times better than league average in the Year of the Pitcher.
The intimidating Cardinals ace combined elite stuff with fierce competitiveness, racking up 3,117 strikeouts while maintaining pinpoint control. His nine Gold Gloves reveal another dimension of excellence — Gibson was essentially a fifth infielder who happened to throw 95 mph fastballs.
What separated Gibson from other power pitchers was his complete-game mentality and October brilliance. His 251 career wins came during an era when starting pitchers were expected to finish what they started, and his postseason dominance helped St. Louis capture two World Series titles.
Career · Hitting
17 seasons| Year | Team | G | AB | HR | RBI | AVG | OPS | OPS+ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1959 | STL | 21 | 26 | 0 | 1 | .115 | .308 | — |
| 1960 | STL | 40 | 28 | 0 | 1 | .179 | .393 | — |
| 1961 | STL | 40 | 66 | 1 | 10 | .197 | .554 | — |
| 1962 | STL | 42 | 76 | 2 | 5 | .263 | .664 | — |
| 1963 | STL | 41 | 87 | 3 | 20 | .207 | .642 | — |
| 1964 | STL | 40 | 96 | 0 | 4 | .156 | .396 | — |
| 1965 | STL | 42 | 104 | 5 | 19 | .240 | .665 | — |
| 1966 | STL | 46 | 100 | 1 | 8 | .200 | .491 | — |
| 1967 | STL | 27 | 60 | 0 | 3 | .133 | .369 | — |
| 1968 | STL | 35 | 94 | 0 | 6 | .170 | .456 | — |
| 1969 | STL | 37 | 118 | 1 | 8 | .246 | .584 | — |
| 1970 | STL | 40 | 109 | 2 | 19 | .303 | .751 | 106 |
| 1971 | STL | 31 | 87 | 2 | 10 | .172 | .469 | 69 |
| 1972 | STL | 34 | 103 | 5 | 12 | .194 | .600 | 90 |
| 1973 | STL | 25 | 65 | 2 | 8 | .185 | .494 | 70 |
| 1974 | STL | 33 | 81 | 0 | 6 | .210 | .517 | 75 |
| 1975 | STL | 22 | 28 | 0 | 4 | .179 | .421 | 60 |
| Career | 596 | 1328 | 24 | 144 | .206 | — | — | |
Career · Pitching
17 seasons| Year | Team | G | IP | W | L | ERA | ERA+ | SO | WHIP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1959 | STL | 13 | 75.7 | 3 | 5 | 3.33 | 117 | 48 | 1.533 |
| 1960 | STL | 27 | 86.7 | 3 | 6 | 5.61 | 68 | 69 | 1.673 |
| 1961 | STL | 35 | 211.3 | 13 | 12 | 3.24 | 124 | 166 | 1.443 |
| 1962 | STL | 32 | 233.7 | 15 | 13 | 2.85 | 139 | 208 | 1.151 |
| 1963 | STL | 36 | 254.7 | 18 | 9 | 3.39 | 102 | 204 | 1.257 |
| 1964 | STL | 40 | 287.3 | 19 | 12 | 3.01 | 119 | 245 | 1.169 |
| 1965 | STL | 38 | 299.0 | 20 | 12 | 3.07 | 114 | 270 | 1.157 |
| 1966 | STL | 35 | 280.3 | 21 | 12 | 2.44 | 144 | 225 | 1.027 |
| 1967 | STL | 24 | 175.3 | 13 | 7 | 2.98 | 111 | 147 | 1.089 |
| 1968 | STL | 34 | 304.7 | 22 | 9 | 1.12 | 266 | 268 | 0.853 |
| 1969 | STL | 35 | 314.0 | 20 | 13 | 2.18 | 166 | 269 | 1.102 |
| 1970 | STL | 34 | 294.0 | 23 | 7 | 3.12 | 124 | 274 | 1.190 |
| 1971 | STL | 31 | 245.7 | 16 | 13 | 3.04 | 114 | 185 | 1.185 |
| 1972 | STL | 34 | 278.0 | 19 | 11 | 2.46 | 133 | 208 | 1.129 |
| 1973 | STL | 25 | 195.0 | 12 | 10 | 2.77 | 135 | 142 | 1.108 |
| 1974 | STL | 33 | 240.0 | 11 | 13 | 3.83 | 95 | 129 | 1.417 |
| 1975 | STL | 22 | 109.0 | 3 | 10 | 5.04 | 73 | 60 | 1.670 |
| Career | 528 | 3884.4 | 251 | 174 | — | — | 3117 | — | |
Matchups, projections, comps — grounded in Lahman, Retrosheet, and Statcast.