Gibson's value goes far beyond the mound for Baltimore

ANAHEIM – Kyle Gibson hasn’t been off to a perfect start on the mound. 

The 37-year-old, signed too late to have a Spring Training, has made just two starts to begin the year after his ramp-up. His ERA, after allowing four first-inning home runs to the Yankees in his first start, is all the way up at 14.09. 

His second start was much improved, and he’s looking for another step in the right direction against the Angels tonight. 

The ERA will settle down, and Gibson hopes to provide some stability in the back of the O’s rotation.

But the value that the veteran brings can’t be quantified by his ERA. 

After last night’s victory over the Angels, the Orioles’ clubhouse was spirited in celebration. Tomoyuki Sugano noted that Gibson had roused the troops with a speech after the O’s were swept in Minnesota, and it had given the Birds some momentum ahead of their new series in Anaheim. 

What was the message? 

“Really, just flush everything that’s happened before,” Cade Povich said today. “There’s no reason to panic or continuously try to search for something to get different results. Just continue to be ourselves and leave what has been behind. The new season starts now.”

You could see that mentality on full display last night. The at-bats were more competitive, the starting pitching was stellar and the defense was excellent. 

The dugout was engaged and energized, too. 

“Already making an impact,” noted Brandon Hyde. “Just in the dugout, the clubhouse, just his personality, experience. The fatherly type of advice that he can give guys along with keeping guys loose, we missed that last year without him, and he’s already brought that already this year.”

There are plenty of leaders on this team, but few are as vocal as the veteran Gibson. 

“Him being a guy that has been around for a little bit, he probably has a little bit of that comfortability (with being someone to speak up). Obviously, being year in years past, he knows a lot of guys, so he’s comfortable with that as well,” Povich said. “I think we have a lot of guys that are great at showing by example with their work ethic and how they go about their day, but to have someone that can be vocal and put new ideas and new guidance in guys’ heads to think about, it’s definitely really helpful.”

Hyde has been around some of the most experienced arms that the game has had to offer, from Jon Lester and John Lackey in Chicago to Charlie Morton and Gibson in Baltimore. But “Gibby,” Hyde says, is one of the best examples of a ballplayer. 

“There’s a lot of respect from everybody in the clubhouse because of the kind of man he is, super honest, but really an unbelievable personality,” Hyde said. 

“And funny,” he made sure to add. 

The manager and coaching staff can steer a ship in the right direction, but sometimes it takes a member of the crew to help drive the messages home. 

“He’s another player,” Povich said. “It’s kind of taking in a thought that he might have, whether it’s pitching or in general, it carries over into: we’re also players, so we can kind of go on the same lines. Our coaching staff is great, and I think they say a lot of great things. But to hear a player that’s in the same position as you say another thing, you can kind of be on the same wavelength as far as what you might be thinking and what’s going on.”

Gibson is searching for some better results in his third start of the season. But his addition has already been paying dividends outside of the painted lines. 

Breadcrumbs from the Skipper

Despite a slow start to the season, Mike Elias has publicly backed Hyde. 

“It means a lot,” Hyde said. “Me and Mike work closely, and we’ve worked together for quite a while now. We have a great relationship and communicate really well. A lot of conversations throughout the day, everyday. For him to do that for me and to understand what we’re going through and the big picture … he was very patient in my first few years when we were not good, and then we got pretty good. For him to show patience this year too and understanding where we are roster-wise, I appreciate that very much.” 

On a lighter note, who’s getting the ball for the series finale? 

“That’s going to be Zach Eflin tomorrow,” Hyde said with a smile.