Former Braves pitching coach Bob Gibson dies

Bob Gibson was a tremendous pitcher. He’s identified as a St. Louis Cardinal, as that is the only team he pitched for in his outstanding career.

But for three years, from 1982 through 1984, Gibson wore an Atlanta Braves uniform as a coach. He was on Joe Torre’s coaching staff for those three years as one of the two pitching coaches, sharing the job with Rube Walker.

Gibson and Torre had been teammates in St. Louis. Torre had said he had Walker to teach his pitchers how to pitch and Gibson to teach them how to win.

Some believed Gibson was not a great coach, as he expected all of his pitchers to be like him – tough-minded and the best competitor you’ll ever see on a mound. Many have always believed the best players don’t always make the best coaches because of them expecting their players to be just as good as they were.

Gibson wanted his pitchers to go off the fastball and to pitch inside. His philosophy became a point of contention, as at that time Johnny Sain was also in the Atlanta organization. Sain believed in changing speeds and pitching every other day to keep the arm fresh. The differences created a split in the organization, as Torre believed in Gibson and the front office favored Sain.

The front office convinced team owner to fire Torre after the 1984 season in favor of Eddie Haas, who promptly hired Sain as his pitching coach. Some wondered if Turner had asked Torre to fire Gibson if Torre might have kept his job, but it’s unlikely Torre would have stayed had he been asked to let go of Gibson and his other coaches.

So, the Bob Gibson era in a Braves uniform was controversial. The development of pitchers really didn’t go very well and Gibson was fired. Gibson and Torre also believed that Phil Niekro was finished after the 1983 season, and instead Niekro went on to pitch several more seasons for the Yankees, Blue Jays and Indians.

Gibson was a tremendous pitcher for the Cardinals, obviously one of the best in the last 60 years. And he should also be thanked for the contribution he made to the 1982 Braves team that won the NL West and captured the hearts of millions of baseball fans who watched every night on WTBS.

Rest in peace, Gibby.

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