Little Known Pirates: Kirk Gibson
It was Game one of the 1988 World Series and the Los Angeles Dodgers were trailing the Oakland Athletics 4-3. Dodgers light-hitting catcher Dave Anderson was coming to the plate, but Dodgers manager Tommy Lasorda switched to pinch hitter Kirk Gibson instead. Gibson wasn't expected to play because he injured both of his legs, but he ended up winning the game for the Dodgers with a two-run home run. It was his only appearance of the World Series and the Dodgers would win four games to one. That is probably one of the most famous at-bats in Gibson's career and what most people remember him for. However, at the end of his career, Gibson wore the Black and Gold for a season in 1992. It may have lasted just 16 games, but Gibson helped out in the Pirates outfield.
The Pirates needed a back-up outfielder heading into 1992, and they were looking to make a push to the World Series after falling short in 1991. Gibson was a two-time World Champion and they figured his experience would help push the team over the edge. So, the Pirates pulled off a trade with the Kansas City Royals that brought Gibson to Pittsburgh. Gibson was only a Pirate for about a month, but in that time he got some big hits for the team and was involved in some weird plays. The veteran outfielder backed up Barry Bonds in right field and gave him some much needed days off at the beginning of the season while adding veteran leadership to the bench.
Gibson's short Pittsburgh Tenure
Kirk Gibson came to the Pirates at a time where winning was the standard, not the goal. The Pirates had made the National League Championship Series in each of the previous three seasons and were looking to make a move to advance to the World Series. Gibson provided a veteran presence off the bench and would serve as a back-up for either corner outfield position. He made his Pirates debut on April 6th, 1992 and went 0-4 with a strikeout against the Montreal Expos. His first Pirates hit would come two days later when he went 1-4 with a single and a run scored. After struggling through his first 10 at-bats, Gibson hit a hot streak going 7-22 (.291) and getting his average to a respectable .235.
His biggest game during that stretch came on April 20th against the Montreal Expos. He went 2-5 with four RBI in the game, all coming on one big blow. With the Pirates leading the Expos 4-1 in the ninth, Gibson stepped in and launched a grand slam to right field to give the Pirates an 8-1 lead. It was his first career Pirates home run and only his sixth hit for the team since joining at the beginning of the season. He would go on to hit one more home run for the Pirates the next day but finished the season hitting .196 with two home runs and five RBI. He was also involved in one of the weirdest run down plays, where the ball ricocheted off his helmet and he got caught in the rundown.
Unfortunately, the Pirates had to release Gibson on May 5th, 1992, ending his season and his tenure in Pittsburgh. He would resign with the Detroit Tigers, the team he spent the first nine years of his career with. Gibson would play three more seasons as a part-time player for the Tigers and hit .266 with 45 home runs and 169 RBI over 284 games. He only played over 100 games once during that stretch and he would end up retiring following the 1995 season. It ended a 17-year career that saw Gibson win two World Series and be named the National League Most Valuable Player in 1988. His time for the Pirates might have been short, but his impact around Major League Baseball was great.
Life After Baseball/Where Is He Now
After retiring as a player, Gibson got right back into baseball on the other side of the camera. He became a color analyst for the Detroit Tigers on FSN Detroit from 1998 to 2003. However, in 2003, the Tigers asked him to move back down to the field and he became the bench coach for a former teammate and new Tigers manager Alan Trammel. He was the bench coach until midway through the 2005 season when he served as the team's hitting coach. Under his leadership, the Tigers saw hitters like Miguel Cabrera and Prince Fielder develop into stars at the Big League level. He was starting to get attention around the league for his work as a coach and ended up switching teams in 2007.
The Arizona Diamondbacks signed Gibson as their bench coach in 2007 and three years later, he would work his way up to manager. He led the Diamondbacks to their first NL West Title since 2007 during his first full year as manager in 2011. Gibson would spend four seasons as the Diamondbacks Manager and went 353-375 before being fired in 2014. Gibson would step back in the Broadcast booth in 2015 and has been serving as a color analyst for the Detroit Tigers ever since. He has also started the Kirk Gibson foundation which promotes cooperation, collaboration, and teamwork in finding a cure for Parkinson's Disease.
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