On August 19, 1968, “Bob Gibson did it again.” He won his 18th game of the
campaign, tossed his 21st complete game, and recorded his 10th
shutout of the season. Gibson allowed just two hits during the 2-0 victory over
the Phillies at Connie Mack Stadium in Philadelphia. The shutout matched a
franchise record that had been set by Mort Cooper in 1942. The win was also
Gibson’s 15th straight win. He had not been beaten since May 28th
as he owned the mound in St. Louis and everywhere else the team traveled.
Ron Davis played an unlikely hero for the Redbirds after
Red Schoendienst penciled him into center. Davis had been acquired in mid-June
and was giving Curt Flood a breather. He did not find himself in the starting
lineup much. However, he made the most
of it on that day. His first RBI came in the second after Phillies starter
Woodie Fryman walked Mike Shannon, who moved to second on the first of three
hits by Tim McCarver, before Davis came through with an RBI single.
Meanwhile, Gibson was mowing them down. He had ten
strikeouts through seven innings before Davis struck again with an RBI in the
eighth. John Boozer had taken over pitching duties for the Phils in the third
and had been effective throughout the game, until Phil Gagliano tripled to lead
off the eighth. Boozer set Orlando Cepeda and Shannon down in succession, then
issued an intentional pass to McCarver just to pitch to Davis. The move
backfired as Davis came through again with a single that scored Bobby Tolan who
had pinch run for Gagliano.
Gibson, who had allowed his first hit of the game in the
sixth, went into the bottom of the eighth with just one hit allowed on his side
of the scoreboard. That one hit was by none other than the pitcher, Boozer.
With that said, he did surrender his second hit during that inning. He had
walked a man before Johnny Callison singled, putting men at second and third
with two outs. Gibson retired the next man, then went out in the top of the
ninth and led things off with a single. Nothing came of the base knock, but
quite frankly Gibson did not need any more run support. He opened the bottom of
the ninth by getting Cookie Rojas to fly out. The next man up, John Briggs
popped out, then Gibson recorded the last out of the ballgame by striking out
Dick Allen. He had struck eleven men out on the day. Dick Allen owned four of
those strikeouts while Gibson’s ex-teammate and friend Bill White owned three.
Gibson’s ERA dropped to 1.00 after the shutout. His
dominance was far from over, as he led the way to the National League Flag. St.
Louis and the rest of the nation knew the name Bob Gibson and when it came up I
am sure that heads were shook in disbelief when the words were said, “Bob
Gibson did it again.”
Check out the box score
here: https://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/PHI/PHI196808190.shtml
Sources included: The Victoria Advocate, The St. Joseph
Gazette, The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, and Baseballreference.com
I
would also like to add that something I truly enjoy is writing about a guy like
Ron Davis. We will forever remember the names of Bob Gibson, Ozzie Smith, Jim
Edmonds, David Freese, and many others who have shined during the regular
season and postseason. However, the men who are unsung heroes are often
forgotten. Those guys that are fourth outfielders, defensive replacements,
pinch runners, or even a mop up guy that takes some lumps when his team is
getting blown out. When a team wins a division, a pennant, or a championship,
each and every man who contributes to the team is a piece of a puzzle that made
it happen. All too often, so many of the unsung heroes are forgotten, but on
days like today it is my pleasure to sing a little bit of praise on their behalf.
Respect.
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