Joe Gibbon
Pitcher · Career Stats, Bio & Records (1960-1972)
Joe Gibbon was a pitcher who played in Major League Baseball from 1960 to 1972 for 4 teams, including the Pittsburgh Pirates, a span of 13 seasons. Across 419 career appearances, he went 61-65 with a 3.52 ERA, 743 strikeouts, and 32 saves. He also batted .144 with 0 home runs. His career Pitcher PIV — Baseball Data Hub's era-adjusted measure of pitching impact — is 11561.6.
- W (Wins):
- Games credited to a pitcher whose team took a lead it never surrendered while he was the pitcher of record.
- ERA (Earned Run Average):
- Earned runs allowed per nine innings pitched: (ER × 9) ÷ IP. The primary measure of pitching effectiveness.
- SO (Strikeouts):
- For a batter, times retired on a third strike; for a pitcher, batters retired on a third strike.
- WHIP (Walks and Hits per Inning Pitched):
- Baserunners allowed per inning: (BB + H) ÷ IP. Under 1.00 is elite.
Data updated
- Position
- Pitcher
- Bats / Throws
- R / L
- Height / Weight
- 6'4" / 200 lb
- Died
- 2/20/2019 in Newton, MS, USA
- MLB Debut
- 1960-04-17
- Last Game
- 1972-07-11
Full name: Joseph Charles Gibbon
Season-by-Season Pitching
Click a stat to plot it across every season.
| Year | Team | Lg | W | L | G | GS | CG | SHO | SV | IP | H | ER | BB | SO | ERA | Lg ERA | Pitcher PIV |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960 | PIT | NL | 4 | 2 | 27 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 80.1 | 87 | 36 | 31 | 60 | 4.03 | 3.82 (-6%) | 1669.6 |
| 1961 | PIT | NL | 13 | 10 | 30 | 29 | 7 | 3 | 0 | 195.1 | 185 | 72 | 57 | 145 | 3.32 | 4.03 (+18%) | 4751.1 |
| 1962 | PIT | NL | 3 | 4 | 19 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 57.0 | 53 | 23 | 24 | 26 | 3.63 | 3.96 (+8%) | 108.0 |
| 1963 | PIT | NL | 5 | 12 | 37 | 22 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 147.1 | 147 | 54 | 54 | 110 | 3.30 | 3.46 (+5%) | 2482.4 |
| 1964 | PIT | NL | 10 | 7 | 28 | 24 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 146.2 | 145 | 60 | 54 | 97 | 3.68 | 3.58 (-3%) | 697.6 |
| 1965 | PIT | NL | 4 | 9 | 31 | 15 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 105.2 | 85 | 53 | 34 | 63 | 4.51 | 3.50 (-29%) | 631.6 |
| 1966 | SFN | NL | 4 | 6 | 37 | 10 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 81.0 | 86 | 33 | 16 | 48 | 3.67 | 3.52 (-4%) | 1734.5 |
| 1967 | SFN | NL | 6 | 2 | 28 | 10 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 82.0 | 65 | 28 | 33 | 63 | 3.07 | 3.30 (+7%) | 729.1 |
| 1968 | SFN | NL | 1 | 2 | 29 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 40.0 | 33 | 7 | 19 | 22 | 1.57 | 2.98 (+47%) | -853.1 |
| 1969 | SFN | NL | 1 | 3 | 16 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 20.0 | 15 | 8 | 13 | 9 | 3.60 | 3.61 (avg) | -372.9 |
| 1969 | PIT | NL | 5 | 1 | 35 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 9 | 51.1 | 38 | 11 | 17 | 35 | 1.93 | 3.61 (+47%) | 118.4 |
| 1970 | PIT | NL | 0 | 1 | 41 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 41.0 | 44 | 22 | 24 | 26 | 4.83 | 3.89 (-24%) | -21.4 |
| 1971 | CIN | NL | 5 | 6 | 50 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 11 | 64.1 | 54 | 21 | 32 | 34 | 2.94 | 3.47 (+15%) | -113.4 |
| 1972 | CIN | NL | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.1 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 54.00 | — | 0.0 |
| 1972 | HOU | NL | 0 | 0 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7.1 | 13 | 8 | 5 | 4 | 9.82 | — | 0.0 |
| Career · 15 seasons | 61 | 65 | 419 | 127 | 20 | 4 | 32 | 1,119.2 | 1,053 | 438 | 414 | 743 | 3.52 | — | 11,562 | ||
Lg columns show the league average for that season, with the player's figure as a percentage above or below it. Career totals the seasons listed above.
Career Batting Statistics
| G | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | SB | BB | SO | AVG | OBP | SLG | OPS | PIV |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 424 | 263 | 9 | 38 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 8 | 0 | 10 | 99 | .144 | .175 | .163 | .339 | -534 |
Career AVG .144 vs. league average .249 across their career seasons — 41.9% below league average.
Career OBP .175 vs. league average .315 across their career seasons — 44.4% below league average.
Career SLG .163 vs. league average .372 across their career seasons — 56.1% below league average.
Career OPS .339 vs. league average .688 across their career seasons — 50.8% below league average.
Season-by-Season Batting
Click a stat to plot it across every season.
| Year | Team | Lg | G | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | SB | BB | SO | AVG | Lg AVG | Lg OBP | Lg SLG | Lg OPS | PIV |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960 | PIT | NL | 27 | 19 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 5 | .211 | — | — | — | — | 0.0 |
| 1961 | PIT | NL | 31 | 59 | 1 | 8 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 1 | 22 | .136 | .258 (-48%) | .328 (-55%) | .399 (-53%) | .727 (-54%) | -534.0 |
| 1962 | PIT | NL | 19 | 17 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | .176 | — | — | — | — | 0.0 |
| 1963 | PIT | NL | 40 | 43 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 15 | .093 | — | — | — | — | 0.0 |
| 1964 | PIT | NL | 29 | 47 | 3 | 12 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 14 | .255 | — | — | — | — | 0.0 |
| 1965 | PIT | NL | 31 | 26 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 13 | .115 | — | — | — | — | 0.0 |
| 1966 | SFN | NL | 37 | 15 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 6 | .200 | — | — | — | — | 0.0 |
| 1967 | SFN | NL | 28 | 24 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 12 | .042 | — | — | — | — | 0.0 |
| 1968 | SFN | NL | 29 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 | — | — | — | — | 0.0 |
| 1969 | SFN | NL | 16 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | .000 | — | — | — | — | 0.0 |
| 1969 | PIT | NL | 35 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | .000 | — | — | — | — | 0.0 |
| 1970 | PIT | NL | 41 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | .000 | — | — | — | — | 0.0 |
| 1971 | CIN | NL | 50 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 | — | — | — | — | 0.0 |
| 1972 | CIN | NL | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 | — | — | — | — | 0.0 |
| 1972 | HOU | NL | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 | — | — | — | — | 0.0 |
| Career · 15 seasons | 424 | 263 | 9 | 38 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 8 | 0 | 10 | 99 | .144 | — | — | — | — | -534 | ||
Lg columns show the league average for that season, with the player's figure as a percentage above or below it. Career totals the seasons listed above.
Game Log & Splits
View full game log (843 games) →Per-game data from Retrosheet (regular season, through 2025).
Batting — Home / Away
| Split | G | AB | R | H | HR | RBI | AVG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Home | 208 | 155 | 6 | 21 | 0 | 8 | .135 |
| Away | 216 | 108 | 3 | 17 | 0 | 0 | .157 |
Pitching — Home / Away
| Split | G | IP | H | ER | BB | SO | ERA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Home | 206 | 648.1 | 573 | 233 | 194 | 454 | 3.23 |
| Away | 213 | 471.1 | 480 | 205 | 220 | 289 | 3.91 |
Last 10 Games — Pitching
| Date | Tm | Opp | Dec | IP | H | R | ER | BB | SO | HR |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1972-07-11 | HOU | CHC | — | 1.2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 1972-07-06 | HOU | PIT | — | 0.1 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 1972-07-03 | HOU | ATL | — | 2.0 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| 1972-06-23 | HOU | CIN | — | 0.0 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| 1972-06-22 | HOU | CIN | — | 0.0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1972-06-10 | HOU | NYN | — | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1972-06-01 | HOU | CIN | — | 0.2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 1972-05-31 | HOU | CIN | — | 0.2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| 1972-05-29 | HOU | CIN | — | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 1972-04-26 | CIN | PIT | — | 0.0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Fielding Statistics
Career Fielding Totals by Position
Season-by-Season Fielding
| Year | Team | Pos | G | GS | PO | A | E | DP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960 | PIT | P | 27 | 9 | 2 | 15 | 1 | 1 |
| 1961 | PIT | P | 30 | 29 | 3 | 35 | 0 | 2 |
| 1962 | PIT | P | 19 | 8 | 2 | 16 | 2 | 1 |
| 1963 | PIT | P | 37 | 22 | 7 | 30 | 3 | 4 |
| 1964 | PIT | P | 28 | 24 | 5 | 34 | 6 | 2 |
| 1965 | PIT | P | 31 | 15 | 3 | 23 | 1 | 0 |
| 1966 | SFN | P | 37 | 10 | 3 | 21 | 2 | 1 |
| 1967 | SFN | P | 28 | 10 | 5 | 23 | 0 | 0 |
| 1968 | SFN | P | 29 | 0 | 2 | 7 | 0 | 0 |
| 1969 | SFN | P | 16 | 0 | 0 | 10 | 0 | 0 |
| 1969 | PIT | P | 35 | 0 | 0 | 12 | 2 | 2 |
| 1970 | PIT | P | 41 | 0 | 3 | 7 | 1 | 0 |
| 1971 | CIN | P | 50 | 0 | 1 | 18 | 2 | 1 |
| 1972 | CIN | P | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1972 | HOU | P | 9 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 0 |
Career Games by Position
Circle size = games played at each position.
| Position | Games |
|---|---|
| Pitcher | 419 |
College History
| School Name | City | State | Years Attended |
|---|---|---|---|
| University of Mississippi | Oxford | MS | 1955, 1956, 1957 |
Most Similar Players
Career comps based on counting + rate stats and primary position. Score is relative — closest peer anchors at ~98%.
Joe Gibbon (highlighted) compared to peers across the same era.
Joe Gibbon: the record in brief
April 17, 1960 and July 11, 1972 bracket Joe Gibbon's time in the majors: the debut and the last game on record. By club, Gibbon's seasons break down as the Pittsburgh Pirates (1960 through 1970), the San Francisco Giants (1966 through 1969), the Cincinnati Reds (1971 to 1972), and the Houston Astros (1972). Born on April 10, 1935, in Hickory, MS, USA, Gibbon is listed as a pitcher and batted right-handed and threw left-handed. Gibbon's listed size is 200 pounds on a 6-foot-4 frame. Gibbon died on February 20, 2019, in Newton, MS, USA. The bio lists the given name Joseph Charles.
Across 419 games (127 starts), Gibbon recorded 61 wins against 65 losses with a 3.52 ERA. Gibbon had 743 strikeouts, 20 complete games, and 32 saves. Gibbon's 3.52 ERA was close to the 3.56 league figure for those seasons. No season topped the 13 wins of 1961. Gibbon saved 11 games in 1971, the season high.
Frequently Asked Questions about Joe Gibbon
- What years did Joe Gibbon play?
- Joe Gibbon played in Major League Baseball from 1960 to 1972.
- Was Joe Gibbon a pitcher?
- Yes. Joe Gibbon pitched in the major leagues, recording 61 wins and 743 strikeouts.
- How many home runs did Joe Gibbon hit?
- Joe Gibbon hit 0 career home runs with 38 hits.
- What teams did Joe Gibbon play for?
- Joe Gibbon played for 4 teams: the Pittsburgh Pirates (1960–1965, 1969–1970), the San Francisco Giants (1966–1969), the Cincinnati Reds (1971–1972), and the Houston Astros (1972).
- What were Joe Gibbon's career stats?
- In 419 games, Joe Gibbon went 61-65 with a 3.52 ERA, 743 strikeouts, 1,119.2 innings pitched, and 32 saves. At the plate he had 38 hits and 0 home runs.
- What position did Joe Gibbon play?
- Joe Gibbon played primarily as a pitcher, the position where he appeared in the most games.
- How tall was Joe Gibbon and how much did he weigh?
- Joe Gibbon was listed at 6 feet 4 inches and 200 pounds.
- What was Joe Gibbon's career ERA?
- Joe Gibbon finished with a 3.52 career ERA, going 61-65 with 743 strikeouts.
- How many strikeouts did Joe Gibbon have?
- Joe Gibbon recorded 743 career strikeouts.
- Is Joe Gibbon in the Hall of Fame?
- No. Joe Gibbon has not been inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame.