1968: Year of the pitcher starring Bob Gibson

1968 in baseball was the year of the pitcher.

Denny McLain won 31 games. Nobody has done that since then.

Don Drysdale pitched 58 2/3 scoreless innings in a row.

Hall of Famer Bob Gibson led the NL (and MLB) with a 1.12 ERA. According to this excellent profile by Roger Angell, Gibson was never taken out during an inning for the entire season.

Gibson pitched three World Series Game Sevens (1964, 1967, 1968) and won two. In 1968, he lost to Mickey Lolich of the Tigers. Lolich was overshadowed by McLain during the season but won three games in the World Series. Lolich was rather plump and ran a doughnut shop after he retired. You can’t make that up.

Today in 1960s Baseball: Bob Gibson becomes 1st player to win MVP, Cy Young Award & Gold Glove in same season (1968) https://t.co/Is4wlxcsuS https://t.co/e3jLwBciLw #Cardinals pic.twitter.com/vdcP0Q45wn
— 1960s Baseball (@Baseball1960s) November 14, 2018

Never removed while pitching. Think of that. Simply the best year any pitcher has ever had. https://t.co/j29w5avgvy
— Jon Heyman (@JonHeyman) July 6, 2020

Great article on Bob Gibson by Roger Angell

Bob Gibson's June/July 1968 stats:

12 starts
12 complete games
12 wins
8 shutouts
6 runs allowed
0 worries about his pitch counts pic.twitter.com/w88fDMKmIL
— Super 70s Sports (@Super70sSports) July 8, 2021

In 1968, Bob Gibson started 34 games and pitched a combined 304.2 innings. There are 306 total innings in 34 games (assuming both take the field for 9 innings). If he recorded 4 more outs that season, he would've pitched a "complete season" worth of 9-inning games. pic.twitter.com/ZTDnRb14DL
— BaseballHistoryNut (@nut_history) July 24, 2022

Today In 1968: St. Louis Cardinals legend Bob Gibson strikes out 17 Detroit Tigers batters to set a new World Series record! Here's all of them in order! #MLB #Baseball #History #Postseason #STLCards pic.twitter.com/HKS73XSxX7
— Baseball by BSmile (@BSmile) October 2, 2022

Sure, Bob Gibson had a 1.12 ERA in 1968 but imagine how much lower it could’ve been if he’d only had a modern bullpen to help him – hang on, being told his ERA was 0.56 in the 8th inning and 0.69 in the 9th inning. pic.twitter.com/uk19M3LIEn
— Super 70s Sports (@Super70sSports) January 15, 2019

Innings pitched per game by Bob Gibson in 1968:
7, 7, 9, 9, 12, 11, 8, 9.2, 8, 8, 9, 9, 9, 9, 9, 9, 9, 9, 9, 9, 9, 9, 11, 9, 9, 9, 9, 9, 10, 8, 9, 8, 8, 9, 9, 9, 9 🤯 pic.twitter.com/XVisODF647
— Codify (@CodifyBaseball) January 15, 2023

On this date in 1968, Don Drysdale of the @Dodgers pitched his sixth straight shutout to set a new record. Drysdale would post 58.2 straight shutout innings before allowing a run. https://t.co/kGoAxlE23K

(MLB Photos) pic.twitter.com/urVPPkFAaG
— National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum ⚾ (@baseballhall) June 4, 2023

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Covers: One Hundred Years from Now

The original version was by the Byrds on their landmark 1968 country-influenced Sweetheart of the Rodeo. Gram Parsons wrote the song but legal reasons prevented his vocal from being used.

Wilco blasted it in a loud cover on a 1999 Parsons tribute album.

Trump thinks people are like him

I think Trump’s attitude toward others reflects his own terrible behavior.

Trump accuses opponents of lying. He lies virtually everyday so I think he believes everyone does it.

Trump accuses everyone of making bad deals. Trump cheated people (Trump University) and many subcontractors. He thinks because he cheats everyone that everyone is out to cheat him. He has no understanding that a deal can benefit both sides.

Sad!

A new study on 2016 Trump voters

“A study published on Monday in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences questions that explanation, the latest to suggest that Trump voters weren’t driven by anger over the past, but rather fear of what may come. White, Christian and male voters, the study suggests, turned to Mr. Trump because they felt their status was at risk.”

Trump has said nothing about the Waffle House shooting

Trump has not tweeted or said anything about the Waffle House shooting or the hero who prevented more people from being killed. It would be different if the killer was black and the victims were white. It is so obvious Trump is a racist but his supporters either agree with him or ignore it. Both responses are disgusting.

Trump did have time to offer sympathy for the victims in Toronto but won’t address issues in his own country.

There appear to be mental health issues with the alleged killer but this should also be considered an act of terrorism.

All 4 victims of today’s heinous Waffle House attack were young people of color with their whole lives ahead of them.

Law enforcement must view today’s tragedy as a racially motivated hate crime and an act of domestic terrorism. Hate crimes are on the rise. #TravisReinking pic.twitter.com/cJudBRowET

— Kristen Clarke (@KristenClarkeJD) April 22, 2018

If he was white he would be golfing with him right now and eating at the state dinner. https://t.co/PTyNJ7Lf8l

— Judd Apatow (@JuddApatow) April 24, 2018

Trump could learn a lot from James Shaw Jr., the courageous and humble hero. Instead, he won’t even acknowledge what he did. Sad!

Update: The NRA said the hero should have used a gun

Another example of poor vetting by the Trump administration

“The White House feels Jackson is being “railroaded” and will push back forcefully, the official said, adding that President Donald Trump is not wobbling over his selection.”

There was no vetting on Ronny Jackson. No formal interview. No process. Now his nomination will be held up amid a probe into his behavior.

— Josh Dawsey (@jdawsey1) April 24, 2018

Both sides saying privately that WH appears to have done a shoddy job vetting Jackson, which is why they likely will have to delay the Wednesday hearing

— Manu Raju (@mkraju) April 24, 2018

Don’t forget what Republicans did to Obama nominees

Trump and other Republicans whine about delays in approving his nominees. Part of the problem is the poor job the White House does in vetting – see the Ronny Jackson case.

Don’t forget that Republicans stole a Supreme Court seat by not voting on Garland and used similar tactics for other judicial nominees. This is one of the worst things they did:

Tom Cotton put a hold on Cassandra Butts simply because she was a friend of Barack Obama's that lasted for many months, through an illness, until she died without being confirmed. https://t.co/lB3hxgwAJh

— Ben Rhodes (@brhodes) April 24, 2018

Casual reminder to arguably his worst moment: https://t.co/gCXYaQFAsT

— Elliot Malmberg (@LNU_Elliot) June 19, 2018

Cassandra Butts was an amazing person. May she Rest In Peace. And may @TomCottonAR feel unending shame. https://t.co/mcyzwl6Py6

— Laurence Tribe (@tribelaw) April 24, 2018

No delay for Kavanaugh says the person who, purely out of spite for Obama, held up Cassandra Butts' nomination until she died. https://t.co/mlr6R57mNs

— Josh Dorner (@JoshDorner) September 24, 2018

Watch out for Republican dark money in 2018

This column points out that Republicans can use “dark money” (corporate political donations through super-PACs) to counter increased Democratic fundraising.

Evangelicals are planning their largest midterm effort ever to support Trump and Republicans.

Sad!

Using the police to enforce discrimination

Excellent tweet:

IF Black women are arrested for playing golf too slowly

IF Black men are arrested for waiting at #Starbucks

IF a black woman is arrested, stripped & straddled at #WaffleHouse

Isn’t it time for #DOJ to investigate how police are used to discriminate in public accommodations? pic.twitter.com/7FBU1NDk17

— Rev. Cornell Wm. Brooks, Esq. (@CornellWBrooks) April 24, 2018