Category: Athlete Appearances, Baseball
Highlights: Kirk Gibson spent 17 years in the major leagues, primarily with the Detroit Tigers and LA Dodgers. He won two World Series and is best remembered for his walk-off home run in the 1988 Fall Classic.
Travels From: Michigan
Fee Range: $10,001 - $20,000
Kirk Gibson played outfield in the majors for 17 seasons from 1979-1995 for the Detroit Tigers (1979-1987, 1993-1995), Los Angeles Dodgers (1988-1990), Kansas City Royals (1991) and Pittsburgh Pirates (1992). Gibson won two World Series, the first in 1984 with the Tigers followed by the second in 1988 with the Dodgers. While playing with Detroit in the 1984 World Series against the San Diego Padres, Gibson hit a three-run home run off of future Hall of Famer Goose Gossage in the 8th inning of Game 5 to help seal the win for the Tigers, the franchise’s first championship since 1968. However, it was during the 1988 Fall Classic that cemented Gibson’s place in baseball history. With the Dodgers trailing the Oakland A’s 4-3 in the bottom of the 9th and Gibson unable to start due to a knee injury and pulled hamstring, manager Tommy Lasorda called on Gibson to pinch-hit. Unable to walk without a limp and facing future Hall of Fame pitcher Dennis Eckersley, Gibson hit a wall-off home run to lead the Dodgers to a 5-4 win. Los Angeles went-on the win the World Series in five games. That was the only plate appearance Gibson made in the Series but it was such a monumental moment that Gibson was named World Series MVP.
Born on May 28, 1957 in Pontiac, Michigan, Gibson attended Michigan State with the original intention of playing football (he was an All-American wide receiver and College Football Hall of Fame inductee in 2017). Gibson joined the Spartans’ baseball team at the suggestion of the football coach and although he played just one season, he was picked by the Tigers in the 1st round of the MLB draft in 1978. He made his MLB debut with Detroit on September 8, 1979. After his playing days ended, Gibson served as manager for the Arizona Diamondbacks from 2010 – 2014, a four-year tenure that included his being named National League Manager of the Year in 2011. Gibson also worked in the broadcast booth as the Tigers’ tv analyst for FSN Detroit from 1998-2002 and again starting in 2015 for Fox Sports Detroit.
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