Former MLB pitcher Jim Bibby dead at 65

[Benjamin Grimm]

Former MLB pitcher Jim Bibby dead at 65 Chris Morris Lynchburg News & Advance Published: February 17, 2010 Jim Bibby, a longtime Madison Heights resident and former Major League Baseball player, died Tuesday night at Lynchburg General Hospital. He was 65. Bibby died around 9 p.m., said Jimmy Wright, a close family friend. Wright said Bibby�s wife, Jacqueline, asked that the family�s privacy be respected and that a statement would be released at a later date. In addition to his wife, Bibby is survived by two daughters, Tamara Bibby and Tanya McClain. Born in Franklinton, N.C., on Oct. 29, 1944, Bibby�s Major League career began in 1972 with the St. Louis Cardinals. Between then and when he retired in 1984, he played for the Texas Rangers, Cleveland Indians and Pittsburgh Pirates. He was a member of the Pirates team that won the 1979 World Series and, when he was with Texas, he pitched a no-hitter against Oakland in 1973. After leaving the pros, Bibby served as pitching coach with the Lynchburg Mets, Red Sox and Hillcats for 15 years. After a year with the Pirates� Nashville affiliate in 2000, Bibby�s contract wasn�t renewed and he retired. In 2002, the Hillcats retired his number during a ceremony at City Stadium. The first 1,000 who attended that game received a Jim Bibby bobblehead doll, which produced a chuckle from the honoree. "Anytime you get a two-for-one deal, it sounds pretty good, don�t it?" he was quoted in The News & Advance article of the event. "Not many minor-league coaches get their jerseys retired. It�s an honor for me, and I�m really appreciative of it." Bibby�s funeral arrangements were incomplete as of Tuesday night.

[Guest John Cougar Lunchbucket]

Twice called up to the Mets' roster in September, but never got in a game.

Booooo, Yogi.

[G-Fafif]

That was Gil's doing, not Yogi's.

[Guest John Cougar Lunchbucket]

Well, screw the both of them.

(struck by lightning)

[G-Fafif]

Well, screw the both of them.

(struck by lightning)[/quote:3gn7iion]

Your saving grace: Consistency.

[Guest Edgy DC]

Jim Bibby's tour of duty with the Lynchburg Mets included coaching future-Mets Tom Edens, Mauro Gozzo, Jeff Innis, Rich Rodriguez, David West, and Mickey Weston. Interestingly, two of those guys had to be traded from the organization and come back before becoming Mets.

He also, if only nominally, supervised Dwight Gooden during a four-inning rehab assignment in 1987.

[G-Fafif]

A not altogether fine-toothed check of the UMDB Necrology indicates this is third instance wherein a major league player (eventual, in Bibby's case) on both sides of a Met trade has passed away:

� Charley Smith (11/29/94) for Ken Boyer (9/7/82)
� Charlie Neal (11/18/95) for Jesse Gonder (11/14/04)
� Jim Bibby (2/16/10) for Jim Beauchamp (12/25/07)