St. Louis Cardinals: Bob Gibson’s 1.12 ERA bests Babe Ruth’s 14.1 WAR

There’s plenty to debate after MLB.com voters deem St. Louis Cardinals Hall of Famer Bob Gibson’s 1968 season the best ever. What made it so good?

In case you missed it, Bob Gibson’s astonishing 1968 campaign, in which he compiled a 1.12 ERA and won the National League Most Valuable Player award as the ace of the St. Louis Cardinals, was proclaimed the “best individual Major League season” in a March Madness-style bracket challenge sponsored by mlb.com.

Good for the 84-year-old Gibby, whose ’68 season topped Babe Ruth’s 1923 season in the final round of voting. The St. Louis Cardinals legend received 55 percent of 22,940 fan votes to beat the Bambino.

Ten observations about the best-season bracket challenge:

No. 1

Gibson wouldn’t have won this bracket 20-some years ago when fans were more obsessed with pitching wins than ERAs. That 1.12 ERA bewitches people, as it should, although 1968 was the Year of the Pitcher. Six other major league starters had sub-2.00 ERAs in 1968, including Cleveland’s Luis Tiant with a 1.60 mark. Still, there’s a huge difference between 1.12 and 1.60.

No. 2

You gotta wonder if Ruth would have prevailed if the committee of researchers and analysts had selected his 1921 season (.378, 59 HR, 168 RBI, 177 runs) over the 1923 year (.393, 41 HR, 130 RBI, 151 runs). The panel picked just one season per player and appeared to use wins above replacement in determining a player’s top season. The Babe had his highest WAR in ’23, partly due to his 170 walks, but those ’21 numbers are just insane.

No. 3

Not that it matters, but why the heck did Rogers Hornsby only get a 10-seed for his 1924 season? The man hit .424 that year! The panel should’ve gone with his 1922 season, where he hit .401 with 42 homers and 152 RBI, but again, his 1924 WAR (12.2) was higher (10.0 in 1922). Modern fans likely view Hornsby, who began his career in the Dead Ball Era (pre-1920), as a singles/doubles hitter. Those 42 homers say otherwise.

No. 4

Albert Pujols faced a daunting first-round opponent — fellow Cardinal Stan Musial. Pujols’ 2009 season (.327, 47 HR, 135 RBI, 1.101 OPS, 9.7 WAR) couldn’t match Musial’s 1948 (.376, 39 HR, 131 RBI, 1.152 OPS, 11.3 WAR).

Cardinals batters drew some cruel matchups. Pujols opened with Musial, and Mark McGwire (1998: 70 homers, 1.222 OPS, 7.5 WAR) got Barry Bonds (2001: 73 homers, 1.379 OPS, 11.9 WAR). Then Hornsby met Bonds in the second round (bye-bye, Rogers) and poor Musial got the Bambino in round two. See ya, Stan.

No. 5

I would’ve been sorely tempted to give the Mets’ Dwight Gooden (1985: 24-4, 1.53 ERA, 13.3 WAR) the nod over Gibson (22-9, 1.12 ERA, 11.9 WAR) in the second round. You’d expect the ex-New Yorker to get the media-capital bump, but I wonder if Doc’s career fizzle has made folks forget how sensational he was his first few years.

No. 6

Fans did right in ignoring WAR with some of their selections. Wins above replacement is no bullet-proof, time-tested measure of performance, and there were other factors at play. It could be that voting for Lou Gehrig (1927: .373, 47 HR, 173 RBI, 1.240 OPS, 11.8 WAR) over Bonds in the quarterfinals was a popularity pick — Gehrig was beloved, Bonds not so much. But so what? Besides, Gehrig never used PEDs.

No. 7

This might be nit-picking, but why in the blue blazes did Nolan Ryan (1973: 21-16, 2.87 ERA, 383 Ks, 7.7 WAR) make the bracket over Jim Palmer (1975: 23-11, 2.09 ERA, 193 Ks, 8.4 WAR)? Ryan set a record with those 383 strikeouts, but he also walked 202 batters. Maybe this was a popularity contest on the part of the panel.

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While Ryan was a keep-his-own-counsel type, Palmer complained constantly. As Bill James wrote in The New Bill James Historical Baseball Abstract, the Orioles pitcher “whined about the Cy Young voting every time he didn’t win it, feuded with his manager, and pulled a face whenever teammates misplayed a ball behind him.” Palmer deserved a place in the bracket, but no one should cry too hard about his omission.

No. 8

Seasons with a specific, iconic stat, like Gibson’s 1.12 ERA in 1968, held tremendous sway with voters. Ted Williams’ unforgettable .406 batting average in 1941 — the last time anyone hit .400 — helped him destroy Mickey Mantle (1956 Triple Crown: .353, 52 HR, 130 RBI, 1.169 OPS, 11.2 WAR) in the second round, with TW getting 74 percent of the vote. The far faster, better-fielding Mick likely had the better all-around season (Williams hit 37 HR with 120 RBI, a 1.287 OPS and 10.4 WAR in ’41), but none of his ’56 numbers stuck in one’s brain like Ted’s .406.

No. 9

It’s disconcerting that Pedro Martinez (2000: 18-6, 1.74 ERA, 284 Ks, 32 BBs, 11.7 WAR) and Pujols were the only Latinos in the 32-player field, but it’s hard to find any glaring omissions on that score. Maybe Alex Rodriguez in 2007 (.314, 54 HR, 156 RBI, 1.067 OPS, 9.4 WAR) could have made the cut (his WAR was even higher, 10.4, as a Mariner in 2000).

The Cubs’ Sammy Sosa (1998: .308, 66 HR, 158 RBI, 1.024 OPS, 6.5 WAR) might have replaced McGwire. The Dodgers’ Adrian Beltre of 2004 (.334, 48 HR, 121 RBI, 1.017 OPS, 9.6 WAR) deserved a look. The Pirates’ Roberto Clemente had several seasons that place him on the cusp of the best seasons ever, but none that stood far above the others.

No. 10

My main disappointment is that Negro League stars weren’t subject to the voting. There’s a chance that Bob Gibson’s 1968 was the second-best season by a man named Gibson — Josh Gibson allegedly hit 84 home runs in one Negro League campaign. But I get it. Negro League stats aren’t always complete and don’t always tell the full story.

Plus, it would have been wrong to have several pre-1947 black stars bounced early because fans simply didn’t know enough about them. If you want to construct your own bracket with Josh Gibson, Oscar Charleston, Satchel Paige, and others, do it. If you place their best seasons in the final four, or two, or one, you might have got it just right.

This is a great honor for Gibson and something all Cardinals fans can be proud of. Gibson was a truly transcendent player and I’m sure his win in this competition gained him some fans along the way.