Within the last few weeks, Hall of Fame pitchers Tom Seaver, Bob Gibson, and Whitey Ford were each called home by the baseball gods, as was Gibson’s Hall of Fame Cardinal teammate Lou Brock. For baseball fans in St. Louis and New York, the loss of these legends is particularly painful.
Tom Seaver won more games in a New York Mets uniform than any other pitcher in franchise history. “Tom Terrific” won the National League Rookie of the Year Award, three Cy Young Awards as the league’s best pitcher, and a World Series championship as a member of the 1969 “Miracle Mets”. Seaver is one of only two players to have tallied 300 wins, 3000 strikeouts, and an earned run average under 3.00. His 16 Opening Day starts are a Major League record, and he is the only pitcher in MLB history to strike out 10 consecutive batters.
Bob Gibson is the winningest pitcher in St. Louis Cardinals history and the winningest National League pitcher in World Series history. Gibson won the National League Cy Young Award twice, the World Series Most Valuable Player Award twice, and the National League MVP Award in 1968. That year he posted an astonishing 1.12 ERA, 28 complete games, 13 shutouts, 22 wins, and a record-setting 17 strikeout game in the World Series. During one stretch that season, Gibson threw 11 straight complete games—winning all of them—while only allowing three runs. The following season, Major League Baseball lowered the pitching mound six inches and shrank the strike zone.
Whitey Ford is the winningest pitcher in the history of baseball’s winningest franchise, the New York Yankees. He won the Cy Young Award in the American League and the World Series MVP Award in 1961. His 10 wins in World Series games are the most by any pitcher and helped his team win six World Series Championships. “The Chairman of the Board” broke Babe Ruth’s record for most consecutive scoreless innings pitched in World Series games by hurling 33 straight innings without allowing a run. He died while watching the Yankees playing in Game 4 of the American League Division Series on television, surrounded by his family.
Lou Brock led the National League in stolen bases eight times in his career. He won two World Series championships as a member of the St. Louis Cardinals in 1964 and 1967. On September 10, 1974, Brock broke Maury Wills’ single season stolen base record of 104 when he swiped his second base of the night in the seventh inning. (My father was at that ball game and it remains one of the most treasured moments of his baseball-loving life.) Brock went on to break Ty Cobb’s career stolen base record in 1977 and recorded his 3,000th career hit in 1979.He still holds the record for stolen bases in World Series history with 14 and is tied for the most hits in a single World Series with 13. His .391 batting average in World Series games is the highest for anyone who has appeared in 20 or more World Series games.
These eye-popping statistics only tell part of the story. To earnthe title of “Legend”, as each of these Hall of Famers did, one must possess much more than skill or a strong work ethic or good genes. The intangible and elusive quality that these legends had in common was Greatness. Their greatness, not their statistics, is what defines them.
The boys and girls who grew up idolizing these legends didn’t need sabermetrics or a statistical analysis to know that they were special. The only methods a true fan of baseball needs to determine the greatness of a player is to watch him play, (at the ballpark or on TV), listen to his games on the radio, or ask one’sfather or grandfather about him.
Long before Lou Brock died, my dad would get misty-eyed whenever he recalled watching him play at old Busch Stadium. Like countless other sons of my generation, I was raised to revere the legends of the diamond, just as my father had. Although Gibby and Lou were still playing when I was a kid, my memories of them are really my father’s memories of them. That’s how it is with baseball.
Though these four legends have now passed on, their Greatness will never fade away. It’s been a tough month for old baseball fans like me, but the game has the power to heal in even the most difficult of circumstances. Baseball has survived two world wars, several economic crises, the shock of 9/11, and even a few pandemics.
Baseball Heaven has four new members who can take comfort in knowing two things: The game will live on for a long, long time, and their Greatness will not soon be forgotten.
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