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1968: Gibby Dominates. Record 1.12 ERA in the regular season, a record 17 strikeouts in a World Series game against the Tigers, Cardinal ace Bob Gibson is the pitcher in the Year of the Pitcher.

Bob Gibson's 1968 season would rate consideration if it hadn't been for his 1967 season - leg shattered by that line drive, Gibson still finished the inning and then came out, missed a couple of months, and came back to win three in the World Series against the Boston Red Sox. That's a far more impressive achievement than even his 1.12 1968 was (and, without it, Juan Marichal's season would be considered far superior to Gibson's - in fact, aligning them properly together, up and down the board, the case exists that Juan Marichal and not Bob Gibson was the outstanding righthanded pitcher in baseball in the 1960s). Gibson in 1967 proved that his 1964 manager Johnny Keane wasn't just mouthing a platitude when - explaining why he left Gibson in in Game Seven of the 1964 Series when Gibson was obviously gassed and the Yankees obviously making serious inroads against him late in the game - he said, "I never thought about taking him out. I had a commitment to his heart."