Bob Gibson: "I don't know if I'd call any of my managers a father figure, but Johnny Keane - who, in fact, had studied to be a priest - certainly nurtured me as a pitcher. In my professional debut, I had a terrible time getting the ball over the plate and was letting up to throw strikes. Of course, that led to getting pounded. I remember Keane coming out to the mound and taking the ball and saying, 'That's pretty good for the first time. We'll get back to you later.'
My first three years in St. Louis, the manager was Solly Hemus, and I'm pretty sure I'd have been traded if the Cardinals hadn't fired him halfway through the 1961 season. Keane took over, and it was a different world. That was the year when Sandy Koufax broke through and became an all-star. Keane pointed out to me that Koufax had started out just like I had - wild and depending too much on the fastball. My manager was building up my belief in myself. And the next year, I was an all-star.
Johnny Keane telling me that, and putting his faith in me, meant more than a hundred successful hit-and-runs."
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