Even in his old age Bob Gibson is still advocating for brushback pitches.
When Anthony Rizzo was batting in the top of the first inning of Thursday’s Chicago Cubs-St. Louis Cardinals game, Cardinals TV announcer Dan McLaughlin began talking about how Gibson thinks pitchers should handle Rizzo.
McLaughlin shared that he communicates with Gibson regularly about Cardinals games. The legendary Cardinals pitcher told McLaughlin over text that pitchers need to throw some chin music at Rizzo to back the power hitter off the plate.
“Essentially Bob was saying someone needs to put [Rizzo] on his rear and don’t let him stand over the plate. Don’t let him hover inside. It’s your plate, not his,” McLaughlin says Gibson told him.
That would be nothing new for Rizzo and might not be much of a deterrent. He’s led the league in hit-by-pitches twice (2015, 2017) and averages 19 hit-by-pitches per 162 games. Yet he still crowds the plate.
Of course, brushback pitches from Gibson meant something different, so maybe that could have had an effect.
Word emerged last month that the 83-year-old former two-time Cy Young Award winner is battling pancreatic cancer, though he still has his passion for the game.
