NEARLY EVERYONE HAS AN OPINION : Gibson Has Fans and Detractors

In a minute, we are going to turn over this story, with no further interruption, to some people who either know Kirk Gibson or have crossed his path. They can tell you more about him than we can.

They can tell you about his past with the Detroit Tigers, about his future with the Dodgers, and a little bit about what he is like when he is or isn’t playing baseball.

For background’s sake, we preface this with a few words about:

--History. Kirk Harold Gibson was born in Pontiac, Mich., and until now has never played for a team outside of Michigan. The son of two teachers, he is married with two children. He and pitcher Dave Rozema, both Michigan natives and close friends, married sisters in a double ceremony. Then-teammate Lance Parrish said: “It was like something you’d see in a movie.”

--Performance. Gibson broke football records at Michigan State University with 112 receptions, 2,347 yards and 24 touchdown catches. He played one year of college baseball and hit .390 with 16 home runs in 48 games.

Late in the 1979 season, he broke into the majors with the Tigers. Five years later, after a regular season during which he hit .282 with 27 homers, 23 doubles, 10 triples, 29 stolen bases and 91 RBIs, Gibson batted .417 in the American League championship series, of which he was voted most valuable player.

In the World Series, won by Detroit in five games, Gibson hit .333, and in the final game, he hit two homers and tagged up and scored from third base on a pop fly caught by the second baseman.

--Anatomy and ability. Gibson is 6 feet 3 inches tall, weighs 215 pounds and has speed to go with power.

On June 14, 1983, against the Boston Red Sox, Gibson hit a home run over Tiger Stadium’s right-field roof into a lumber yard across the street, 523 feet away.

That same night, with a fast teammate, Lou Whitaker, on second base, Gibson hit a ball over the center fielder’s head. At home plate, Whitaker, who had waited at second base to see if the ball would be caught, arrived at the same time as the outfielder’s throw.

Gibson, running right behind him, barreled into catcher Gary Allenson and umpire Larry Barnett, knocking both men down and the ball free. Whitaker was out. Gibson was safe.

--Health. Physiognomy to the contrary, Gibson has missed games because of wrist surgery in 1980; a sore left knee, a strained left calf, stomach trouble and a sprained wrist in 1982; arthroscopic knee surgery in 1983; a sprained left ankle in 1986, and a pulled rib cage in 1987.

He also missed a week of play in 1986 after being bitten by his dog. The year before, he was hit in the mouth by a pitch and took 17 stitches but played the next game.

--The public. Never enthusiastic about signing autographs, Gibson once went so far as to scale the right-field wall at Detroit’s spring camp in Lakeland, Fla., to escape.

Teammates have acknowledged his strained relationship with certain fans but also have seen him sign autographs willingly on occasion and visit children at hospitals.

--The press. Female sportswriters from Detroit and Toronto protested abusive and profane language directed toward them, and certain men haven’t fared much better.

Gibson also has had good relationships with some journalists, and according to Detroit sportscaster Eli Zaret, “Even those fans who didn’t care for him will miss hating him. The massive reader response over his departure in the local papers proved once again that he was the most charismatic Tiger since Denny McLain.”

For his part, Gibson, 30, introduced himself to Los Angeles by saying: “When I step on that field, my goal is to win. When we leave spring training, we want to be world champions, not just win the division and the pennant. We want it all.

“Also, when I step on the field, I may offend some by some of my actions. But I’ll be quite honest with you: I don’t step on the field to make friends.”

He did make some friends. Some enemies, too. They haven’t forgotten him.

Jack Morris has spent his entire major league career pitching for the Tigers. He and Gibson were teammates for eight seasons, and duck-hunting partners in the off-seasons.

“For six years, I haven’t figured him out. Eight years, whatever it was. He can be a great guy. He’s at his best when he’s in the duck blind. Believe me, I’m one of the very few people who knows the good side of Kirk. He’s got a very good side. He’s a kind person. He’s very considerate, at times, to people he likes. . . . That’s the human side of Kirk.

“I think what happens to him is that he’s always had trouble with the public, people in general. He crowds in and gets a shell about him. I don’t know how to explain it other than that. He doesn’t like people, crowds. But when he gets away in his little world of duck hunting, he can relax, unwind and enjoy it. That’s when he’s at his best.

“In this game, you’d better laugh at yourself once in a while, because if you don’t, it’ll drive you crazy. It’ll make you snap. It’ll make you throw helmets and break them. And, that’s what happens to him. We’re all human. We have our days when you can’t do anything but laugh at yourself, and he’s always had a tough time with that.

“I think it’s his intensity level of what he expects of himself. I’ve been through that myself. I don’t accept it any better than he does, outwardly or inwardly. But I learned it’s part of it, and he hasn’t.

“Part of Kirk’s problem is what I call football mentality. Intensity in the game of football is different than in baseball. In football, you make a mistake, you go crush somebody. You get the satisfaction of putting pain in someone else. It’s different in this game. But it’s been a tough adjustment for him, because he really didn’t learn the game of baseball until college.

“You learn that there are days when you don’t say anything to Gibby. I, personally, got tired of him throwing helmets and swearing. That’s something I used to do. I could relate to it. I’d have a tough time, pitch badly and break up the clubhouse. After doing it so many times, you sit back one day and say, ‘What am I doing? Is this really what I want the public to visualize me doing?’ I think that will come to him some day.

“He can’t take a joke, I know that. He’s a fun-loving person, only he enjoys being on the giving side of it. He can’t take it against him. He would have laughed like hell if he would have been the one doing the prank.

“I think, in order for him to enjoy the game more and relax--and I’ve talked to him about this--he’s got to keep the intensity to try to do the best he can, every time he gets up, but he’s got to accept the reality that it’s not always going to be perfect. I think that was a big reason for him going to L.A., really. I think he’s ready to make that transition in his life.

“He knows he’s not going to shed the image he had in Detroit. But, he’s hoping for a fresh start out there, to eliminate some of the negatives he’ll never get rid of here.”

Dan Petry now pitches for the Angels. He was in Detroit with Gibson from 1979-87.

“He hates to lose. He’s constantly screaming and carrying on in the clubhouse. He’s a rough guy, no question. You’ll see him screaming, hollering, getting madder than heck.

“That’s how he is. . . . The eyeblack thing, you have to pick your spots with Kirk. You have to know when to play a joke on him. I know him well enough where I think I could get away with something like that, but I definitely would pick my spot.

“Even at Old Maid, he hates to lose. We’ve played some pretty silly card games in the clubhouse, and I’ve seen him get all tensed up like this (grits his teeth, bugs his eyes, starts to tremble). That’s the way he plays baseball.

“In Detroit, it was either love him or hate him. They remembered him as an All-American football player who did so many wonderful things for Michigan State. He came up to the big leagues so fast, he struggled a little. He admitted it, he did struggle. But, we expected such big things from him.

“The people who booed him after he struck out his first three at-bats were the same ones who gave him a standing ovation and a curtain call when he hit a home run his fourth time up.

“In L.A., I don’t know. I think you can expect a typical year--and not worse than typical. And that means between 20-30 home runs, between 80-100 RBIs and around .270 or .280. I certainly don’t anticipate anything going wrong.

“I don’t know the Dodger organization and what kind of impact he’ll have there. But, I do know what kind of impact he had on the Tigers. A lot.”

Larry Herndon played in the Detroit outfield with Gibson from 1982-87.

“Personally, I really admired him as a player. He got everything he could out of his talent, every day that he was here.

“Since I’ve been playing baseball, I have never seen anyone play as hard as he did, day in and day out.

“Players like that don’t come along every day. He’s going to be missed here.”

Tom Monaghan is founder and chairman of the board of Domino’s Pizza, and has owned the Detroit Tigers since October, 1983. After Gibson had signed with the Dodgers, Monaghan commented in Fencepost, Domino’s in-house newsletter:

“He was a disgrace to the Tiger uniform, with that half-beard. His best talents--hitting home runs against right-handed pitchers and stealing bases--are not worth $1.5 million a year, which means the best he could do for the Tigers would be as a designated hitter against a right-hander.

“He also has maybe one of the weaker arms in baseball for an outfielder, and can’t field well. Gibson was a real liability in the outfield.”

Monaghan later apologized for what he said.

Lance Parrish, catcher for the Philadelphia Phillies, played with Gibson from 1979-86.

“I think it was unfortunate for Tom to make remarks like that about Gibby, especially since he wasn’t reacting to any comments by Kirk. He just said it for the sake of saying it. I don’t think it was right for him to say that.

“That’s the kind of stuff Kirk’s had to deal with his whole career. Some teams will let you grow a beard, some won’t. So what? He’s got a heavy beard and he doesn’t like to shave all the time. It’s not like you’re out there dancing. You’re playing baseball.

“Plus, I think it helped him create the kind of image he wanted to create. I think that intimidation worked. I would think Detroit would have been happy with a guy like that, who’d give the team he’s on an edge. Ask anyone who plays against him. They don’t like playing against him.

“He was just a wild man, with helmets, with anything. He would get frustrated when he failed. I don’t know how many helmets he broke in his career, but it had to be a record.

“His policy of not signing autographs, I can understand that, because people always gave him a hard time. Whatever he did wasn’t good enough. They were always getting on him. There was nobody-- nobody-- on that ballclub who gave more of himself on the field than Gibby. I guarantee you, a lot of people who came to watch us play came to watch Gibby. He is capable of doing so many things. But when it came time to give him the credit he deserves, he’d get more criticism than praise.

“He’s one of those guys who’s a leader by word of mouth. He gets out there on that field and he turns into a different guy. He screams at the other guys all the time. He plays hard. He’s mean. He wants to win. What more would you want from a guy?

“I’ve also been out bird hunting with Gibby, and seen him be real patient. I was kind of amazed, because I figured if his dogs didn’t listen to him, he’d be out there smashing them around.

“Nobody wanted to mess with him, I know that. One day we were playing Oakland and Cliff Johnson, he was kind of a big-mouthed guy. He was getting on Gibby while running in the outfield before the game. Yelling stuff at him. Cliff was the kind of guy who’d try to intimidate you. But, Gibby won’t take it.

“Anyway, Cliff finally says to him, ‘You know, we’re going to have to go somewhere and straighten you out.’

“Gibby walks over to him, puts his arm around him and says, ‘C’mon, let’s go.’

“And Johnson says, ‘Get outta here, man.’ Cliff’s a big boy, but Gibby didn’t care.”

Darryl Rogers coaches the National Football League’s Detroit Lions. He was Gibson’s coach at Michigan State.

“The first time I saw him, I remember my first thought was: ‘Look at that guy run. Hey, we’ve finally got a linebacker who can really fly.’ And one of my assistants, Sherman Lewis, says to me: ‘That’s not a linebacker, that guy’s a receiver.’

“He was one of those rare guys who had both size and speed. When I was coaching at Fresno State and San Jose State, I got a chance to watch great sprinters like John Carlos and Lee Evans run. Not just fast, but world-class fast. And, Kirk Gibson, I swear to you right now, was a world-class runner. He could have run the quarter mile in the 45s (seconds) if he’d worked at it. We got him under 4.3 for the 40.

“We had thoughts about making him a tailback, just to get him the ball 30 or 35 times, but he was a long strider. He was a running back in high school, and not highly recruited. As a receiver, though, he just ran by people. I mean, just ran by ‘em. One trip to Minnesota, he hadn’t even practiced because of a bruised heel. That day he got three touchdowns, and just ripped them like you can’t believe--86 yards, 63, 40-something. He would have made a hell of an NFL receiver, believe me.

“He went 76 yards against Iowa once-- sensational-- and another assistant of mine, Bob Baker, turns to me and says: ‘This guy is not the average bear!’

“Guys like that, they’re a privilege to have. The one thing I hoped he would change with maturity, and I think he has, was his vocabulary. Even on the practice field, he was a four-letter word man.

“But, I’ll have to say this for him, he doesn’t have one face for some people and another face for others. One thing about Kirk, he’s very up front. He tells you exactly how he feels. If he likes you, he likes you. If he doesn’t, he doesn’t. He isn’t a guy with any facade. He says what he means, and means what he says.”

Lynn Henning, who attended Michigan State and later worked for the Lansing (Mich.) State Journal, has been a sportswriter for the Detroit News since 1979.

“I’ve always had the greatest fascination for Kirk Gibson off the field as well as on it. His mother’s an English and speech teacher, and his dad’s a math teacher, and that might account not only for his intellect, which I think is considerable, but for his demonstrative manner, the way he expresses himself so flamboyantly.

“Never in my years in this business have I heard an athlete express himself so precisely and so colorfully. He can capture a feeling so well, and so concisely. He never offers you a shallow or extraneous quote. You can use every word he says, because he doesn’t mince words with anybody about anything. He gives you the provocative quote, completely anti-cliche.

“Kirk’s also always stated that he doesn’t want people to know him, which I happen to believe is untrue. I think there’s a vulnerability there, well hidden. I think he would rather live with criticism than be exposed as a sensitive person, which he is. He prefers the rogue image.

“Detroit went nuts trying to figure Kirk Gibson out. I guess you could say that the consequence of being the occasional misanthrope being disliked, but in Gibby’s case, I have a feeling he sometimes equates being nice with being weak. I do know that he’s been courteous to me, personally, without exception, and he’s the most complex and interesting athlete I’ve come across in 15 years.”

Jim Saros is Gibson’s business partner. They have owned a real estate investment company in Grosse Pointe, Mich., since 1982, and, after Gibson was ruled a free agent in January, his press conference was held at Jim Saros Realty.

“As far as business is concerned, I couldn’t have a better partner. The guy is bright, reliable and involved. He’s not one of those people who says, ‘Here’s my half million dollars. Make me some money.’ He wants to know: ‘What are we doing with it?’

“The man will never have to worry about a thing in his life. He’s good about listening to experts. He listens and asks questions and doesn’t offer any unsolicited advice, any more than I would tell him how to hit. And, we have a deal that as long as he is playing baseball, during those six months of the season or whatever, he and I are just friends. He’s totally devoted to the game. You don’t want some guy standing out there in left field worrying about some million-dollar business deal.

“Privately, I consider him a very, very good friend. So, let me tell you a couple of things about Kirk Gibson.

“One is that if you lock him up in a room alone with a bear, the bear isn’t going to come out. The guy is an absolute survivor. He’s tough as nails.

“Two is, he’s probably the most honest person I’ve ever been around. He and I are very opposite, and by that I mean, I’m a businessman, and I’ve always been a little low-key, diplomatic. Call it smooth, whatever.

“I made the toast at his wedding, and talked about that, about how people ask me: ‘How did you two ever get together?’ Here’s this gruff guy, out and out blunt, blatantly honest and direct with everything he says. Let me say this, if Kirk Gibson tells you $100,000 will be on your desk tomorrow at 10 o’clock, you can set your watch. It won’t be a minute late. You always know where you stand with him.

“As far as the Tigers go, that was the dumbest business move I’ve ever seen, in any business entity I’ve ever been around. What they did didn’t make a lick of sense to me. He told them he would sign for $1.3 million if they would extend his contract one more year. He said to (General Manager Bill) Lajoie: ‘I’ve always known I would play in Detroit for less.’

“He says, ‘I have another offer on the table that calls for three years and $4.5 million. If you extend my contract to three years at $1.333 million, I’ll sign it right now, today.’ He would have taken something like $500,000 less to stay in Detroit.

“And, now that the contract is public, I can tell you that the Dodger deal gives him $2.5 million in Year 1. The Tigers would have given him the 1.3. Do you know what it’s like to have that extra $1.2 million, just for investments alone? He would have played in Detroit literally for as much as three-quarters of a million less.

“And what does Lajoie say? ‘I only have permission to offer you up to two years.’

“Even aside from the fact that they were willing to let him go, the amazing thing is that they got nothing in return. Hell, I wouldn’t fire my secretary if I didn’t have someone to take her place.

“It’ll be interesting to see what happens now. Batting behind Gibson, Alan Trammell saw more fastballs last year than he’s ever seen in his life. When Gibby’s on first, nobody’s throwing slow changeups out there.

“I think he’s just going to flourish in Los Angeles. I would just love to see him go through a year free of injuries. A season with 40 homers and 40 stolen bases is not out of his reach, believe me.

“From a personal standpoint, maybe some people won’t take to him. Kirk Gibson is not Mr. Personality. He’s not a people person in the classic sense. But in this lifetime, I will never have a better friend. I don’t care what anybody says.

“I was at a party about three or four weeks ago and some big-time attorneys were there. All of a sudden they started talking about what an . . . Gibson was.

“I finally said, ‘Look, I’m sorry, but this man’s a good friend of mine. I’m not going to sit here and tolerate this.’ Then I told my wife to get our coats. The guy hosting the party, I thought he was going to fall through the floor. I’m just not going to sit there while my friend is ripped apart by some drunken fans. He’s that good a friend.”

Vada Pinson, batting coach for the Tigers, was an outfielder for five clubs over 18 years, averaging .286.

“He was hard to figure at times, because sometimes he would be like a big kid, and sometimes he would be like a big monster.

“I know he gave the impression to some people that he was a tough guy and a loner, but I’ll always remember the time I came back from my mother’s funeral, and he said to me: ‘I really needed you when you were gone.’

“That made me feel good. He wanted so badly to succeed, and was very receptive to advice if he thought it would make him a better player. That’s what he’s always been striving for--to get better and better.”

Al Kaline made baseball’s Hall of Fame after 22 seasons, all with Detroit, during which he produced 3,007 hits and 399 home runs. He is now a Tiger television announcer, and tutor to certain players.

“He was constantly picking my brain about how to play the game. There wasn’t a day that didn’t go by that he didn’t want me to teach him about fielding and throwing. He’s a tireless worker.

“One thing about Kirk, he’ll bring good work habits to the Dodgers. They’ll know before too long that when he puts on the uniform, he’s all business.”

Tom Brookens played triple-A ball with Gibson at Evansville, Ind., in 1979, and was called up to the Tigers eight weeks ahead of him. He has been an infielder with them ever since.

“Gibby can get mad at anything. He’ll fly off the handle. It’s the way he’s always been, even in the minor leagues. In the batting cage, he’ll hit three line drives and pop the fourth one up in the cage, and he’ll be (swearing) and throwing the bat.

“We came up together, and I can remember one of the first things that happened when he came up. Rookies always take a little bit of abuse from the regular players. But, when he first came to the big leagues, there was no fooling around. Nobody gave him any . . . .

“I don’t remember what brought it on, but one day they were ribbing Gibby about being a rookie in the (trainer’s) room. That ended it, because Gibby ended it real quick. Everybody saw what happened (between Gibson and veteran pitcher Jack Billingham), and that was that.

“Whatever he does, he really gets into it. I just think a lot of people tend to hide their feelings, whereas he doesn’t hide any of his. He’ll come right out and tell you exactly how he feels. He might even tell it to you because he knows you won’t like it. Sometimes he’s like that.

“It rubs people the wrong way a lot of times. Anytime you’re in the public eye, well, let’s face it, the public wants you to say whatever they want to hear. And Gibby’s not going to do that. He’s a very truthful person. And he’s smart. I don’t want to give anyone the impression he’s not a smart person. He’s got a fine business mind. He knows what’s going on around the ballpark.

“But there are a lot of days when he’d just as soon walk on top of you as around you. He’s that type of person.

“People might feel he owes them something because he’s a big star, and I’m sure he doesn’t feel that way. I’m sure he feels he owes people 100% when he steps between the lines, and that’s it. I think that’s why he doesn’t sign a lot of autographs. He doesn’t want to stand around, because he wants to go home and do something.

“ ‘Come in and watch me play. That’s what they pay me for, and that’s what you pay to watch.’ He thinks that.

“When he first came to the Tigers, he was hurt a lot. A lot of people questioned how much he wanted to play baseball and how much he wanted to go out and do other things. His first couple of years, he didn’t concentrate as much as he should have. After that, he realized what the game was all about, what it takes to be a winner. Then, he totally dedicated himself to be a winner.

“I don’t think anybody would ever say Gibby didn’t have a lot of talent. To be as big and strong and fast as he is, that’s just raw talent. He’s at the top of the list when it comes to that. And, that’s what really matters.”

Jack Billingham pitched for the Tigers and Cincinnati Reds before retiring to Florida to manage a sporting goods store. He was still with the Tigers in September, 1979, on the night Gibson started his first major league game, and later told what happened.

“I was always an agitator and a needler, and he was tense. I was saying, ‘What’s the matter, you nervous?’ and he didn’t even smile. He yells, ‘Jack, just leave me alone! Just leave me alone!’ I saw a look of fire in his eyes, so I stopped.

“Fifteen or 20 minutes later, I’m going through those swinging doors of the trainer’s room, and he comes walking through again, and I say, ‘Geez, you can’t stay out of there, can you?’ And he comes at me with a flying body block, knocks me 10 feet.

“I don’t think it’s too funny to have an ex-football player charge me. I was no fool, so I stayed away from him after that. But, I said, ‘Relax, Kirk. If you’re going to play this game and stay that tense, you’re gonna go crazy.’

“But, that was the first year, and Sparky and everybody put the extra pressure on him, comparing him with Mickey Mantle and saying he was the best prospect since Johnny Bench. This all happened a few years ago. Is he still that tense?”

Ray Lane has been a broadcaster for the Tigers and Reds, and was the radio voice of Michigan State football during Gibson’s years there. He currently reports sports at WKBD-TV, Detroit.

“I remember a few years ago, when I was working for Channel 2, our cameraman, Chuck Davidson, went to Tiger Stadium early for batting practice. At the time, Gibson was in a horrible batting slump. This particular late afternoon, he was having trouble getting the ball out of the batting cage.

“Davidson went to the park early for a purpose, to videotape Gibson at practice and then give him the tape so he could look at it and study any flaw in his swing, stance or stride. You see, Davidson was a real fan of Gibby’s. He wanted to help him out.

“Gibson spotted the well-meaning cameraman, shooting from outside the cage, and, in his typical rude behavior, threatened to break the camera and do bodily harm to Davidson. It wasn’t as if they were strangers to one another, because Chuck had spent several spring trainings and regular seasons around Gibson. That action soured Davidson from ever speaking of (Gibson) again.

“So, Captain Kirk, take your boorish ways and insulting personality and go Hollywood. If you have a prolonged slump with the Dodgers, just remember, it’s a short hike from the stadium to the ocean, where you can refresh that selfish personality. You can go soak your head.”

Bill McGraw, a city hall reporter for the Detroit Free Press, covered baseball when the Tigers won the 1984 World Series.

“His majesty and I talked one day in June, 1984, as he lounged in his darkened room at the Grand Hyatt hotel in New York. He told me about a confrontation that took place at the Porter Street Station bar-restaurant near Tiger Stadium in the summer of 1983, when a guy started hassling him from a nearby table while Gibby was with a couple of friends.

“The guy started in on him and he wasn’t reacting, but he kept it up, so Gibson said, ‘Enough’s enough.’

“He said he picked up the guy by the scruff of his shirt and said, ‘Look, you s.o.b., you buy your ticket, you can get me at the ballpark. I get paid to put up with . . . like you at the park. But not here in public. So, say another . . . word and I’ll rip your head off your shoulders.’

“Then he said he threw the guy back down and slapped him across the face.

“He told me, ‘I was totally in the right. I never felt so right about doing something in my life. I wanted to go up there and smash his head in. That’s what he wanted, too, but I just went up and scared him. I don’t do nothing that could get me in trouble.’ ”

Alan Trammell, Detroit’s starting shortstop since 1978, was runner-up in the American League’s most-valuable-player voting last season.

“People are making Kirk out to be a real bad guy. But, he’s changed considerably. There are a lot of stories, but it’s not fair to him to bring them up from way back.

“Let’s just say that I think he’ll be able to make the adjustment he has to, because he’s older now. A few years ago, I don’t think he would have considered it. He’s going to be 31 years old now. He’s been around and is more experienced.

“The one thing I will say about him as a player: He thrives on late-inning pressure situations. He’s going to strike out with the bases loaded, but he’s also going to come through with some of those big hits. He’s shown me that consistently, year in and year out. He’ll get a lot of big hits for you. I can’t tell you he’ll hit for a great average, but he has a thing for the dramatic. I don’t think anybody in this room will forget that home run against Goose (Gossage) in the (1984) World Series.

“I’m sure Gibby will be the first to tell you that last year wasn’t a Kirk Gibson-type of year. But, a lot of people would be very happy with those numbers. He wasn’t satisfied. He thought he could have done more.

“We kind of fed off (his personality) both ways. We knew how Gibby was, how intense he was. We played around a little with him, and he did with us. But, it must be harder for him to handle over in L.A., because they haven’t been around him. When he gets acquainted with the players there, he’ll hang around a few more than others. He always does. The relationship will grow.

“Sometimes he snaps on certain things. He says what he wants. Whether or not people will go for it, I don’t know. I would never say things like (he does), but that’s Gibby.

“He had so many people following him because of his football career. People would follow him down the street, especially in the early years. I think they’re going to expect a lot out of Gibby anywhere, not just Michigan. The one thing he’ll never live down is the Mickey Mantle comparison. He didn’t need that. But, he’s been a good major league baseball player.

“I was disappointed he left, but, at this stage in his career, he had to look out for himself. I don’t blame a guy for that. I wish Gibby very well. He’s still a friend, and I know he’ll do well.”

Barb Gibson, who teaches speech and drama at Clarkston (Mich.) High School, is sorry to see her son go so far from home.

“I think it’s going to work out fine. He seems quite happy, and from what I’ve heard about the Dodgers and what I’ve seen in Vero Beach, they certainly seem like a class organization.

“I don’t think many people know the Kirk I know. He’s a feeling and caring person, very family oriented, and a wonderful father, which makes me feel very good. He’s also a private person, who guards his privacy closely. He had his times in life as a young bachelor, like anybody else, and now he’s grown up and settled down.

“I just hope the people in Los Angeles don’t expect him to be the savior of the team. The Detroit fans always expected so much. He’s a human being. He’s going to strike out sometimes. Many times, they judged him unfairly here and, as a mother, that was a very difficult thing to watch. They seemed so forgetful about all the positive things he did.

“It’s going to be very hard for me now because I can’t see what’s happening. Before, I was so involved. All I had to do to see a game was hop in the car. Now, I’ll have to do some traveling to see a game, and I don’t know anything about the National League.

“One thing I’ve noticed about the Dodger organization so far, though, is that they seem to care about families. Everybody was so nice to me in Vero Beach, and there were so many facilities there for families.

“And that Tommy Lasorda. Kirk took me up to him and said, ‘Mama, I want you to meet Tommy Lasorda,’ and I stuck out my hand, and he gave me this big hug and kiss, and I almost fainted.

“I think Kirk’s going to be good for them, and they for him. One thing Kirk is good at is motivating people. He’s so intent on winning, he helps instill that in other people.

“Maybe sometimes he does it in the wrong way, and I know he’s had run-ins with certain people. I was sorry to hear about that practical joke that one boy on the Dodgers pulled. But, in that sense, it’s just like a family. There’s good times and bad. I think Kirk and the Dodgers are going to have a lot of good times.”