All-Time Indians: Jim Bibby

Jim Bibby pitched just three seasons for the Indians in the 1970’s, but he was a rock of consistency in an era that saw the staff in constant flux. The pitching staffs of the mid to late 1960’s featuring Sam McDowell, Luis Tiant and Sonny Siebert rivaled those of the late 1940’s and early 1950’s, but by June of 1975, no pitchers were left from the 1973 and only Fritz Peterson remained from the 1974 staff.

The trade that cost the Indians their first Cy Young winner, Gaylord Perry, in June of 1975 was the same that brought in Bibby from Texas along with Rick Waits and Jackie Brown. While it appeared that the Indians acquired three starting pitchers for one, ultimately Perry would be worth more than the other three combined and would go on to win his second Cy Young in 1978 with San Diego.

Of those who came back to Cleveland, Waits would stick around the longest, but Bibby would provide the best performances.

Bibby was originally signed by the Mets as an amateur free agent in 1965, but would miss all of 1967 and 1968 as he served in the Vietnam War. Before making his Major League debut, he was traded to St. Louis in an eight player deal in 1971. He made just a short appearance on the roster in 1972, then a few games in 1973 before being traded again, this time for two players going to Texas. He wasn’t quite able to put things together there either, however, although he did win 19 games in 1974 despite a 4.74 ERA. After an extremely poor start to the 1975 season, he was included in the aforementioned Perry trade, bringing him to Cleveland.

Despite a 5.00 ERA through his first 12 starts, the change of scenery did him well and he finished out the season with a 3.20 ERA, spending half the time in the rotation and half in the bullpen. It was this time in the bullpen that really seems to have turned things around for Bibby as he began his time in Cleveland in the rotation, posting a 4.40 ERA through his first 7 appearances (6 starts), but after 11 relief appearances including four of at least two scoreless innings, he came back to throw a complete game in his first game back in the rotation and ended the season with six starts and a 2.44 ERA and .232 average allowed.

In 1976, Dennis Eckersley returned as staff ace and was joined in the rotation by Bibby, Waits and Brown, who were all primarily used in relief in 1975. Bibby’s season would mirror his 1975 campaign in a way as he began the year in the rotation, struggled (8.78 ERA through 4 starts fueled by a .440 BABIP) and was moved to the bullpen, then pitched well and rejoined the rotation. This time, he would pitch 43.2 innings across 13 appearances as a reliever with a 1.65 ERA before rejoining the rotation in mid-July. Once back, he would throw three complete game shut outs and be responsible for the next eight decisions in games he pitched and 14 of his 16 starts to end the season, winning nine.

Prior to 1977, the Indians would trade Brown in a steal of a deal to Montreal for Andre Thornton and would be replaced in the rotation by Wayne Garland with Eck, Bibby and Garland being the Indians only regular starters. Bibby himself would make 30 starts, his most since 1974 with Texas and most ever as an Indian.

He began the season as a spot starter and struggled in his early appearances again, allowing five runs in six innings in his first start, then five over his next 7.2 in a pair of relief appearances. Having dug this hole for himself, incredibly he pitched a complete game shut out in his first start upon his return to the rotation. After a 1.1 inning start, he would pitch another complete game. He would complete two games in each of the next three months and a second shut out in June. While a lack of run support cost him (and the rest of the rotation), he still finished the year with a 3.57 ERA with 141 strike outs in 206.2 innings.

Bibby’s three seasons of relative consistency couldn’t have come at a better time as he hit free agency in 1978 and he parlayed that success into a long term deal with Pittsburgh. Going from one of the worst teams in baseball to one of the best, Bibby initially was pushed back into a bullpen/spot starter role for his first two seasons, making 31 starts across his first two seasons. When the play-offs came around in 1979, however, he was in the rotation and he pitched well in all three post-season starts as the Pirates won the World Series. His late season success would turn him into a full time starter in 1980 and he would have another great season with a 3.32 ERA and 19 wins, making it to his first and only All-Star Game and finishing third in the NL Cy Young voting.

After an incredible start to 1981 (2.50 ERA through 14 starts), Bibby tore his rotator cuff, a debilitating injury that would essentially end his career. After missing all of 1982, Bibby attempted to come back in 1983 with Pittsburgh, but struggled. Unlike his first foray into free agency, this time he hit the market at the worst time, being an injured 38 year old and he signed on with the Rangers for one year, but pitched just 16.1 innings in relief before being released. In a continual return to his beginnings, he signed as a free agent with the Cardinals, but was unable to continue and threw just five innings in AAA before retiring.

After retirement, Bibby moved back to his home state of North Carolina and became a pitching coach for multiple teams in the International League, Carolina League and Pacific Coast League from 1984 through 2000 including the Indians current affiliate, the Lynchburg Hillcats from 1985 through 1999. Following his second retirement in 2000, Bibby stayed in Lynchburg, Virginia where he died in 2010 at the age of 65.