Orioles’ Kyle Gibson embracing new roles: Opening Day starter, leader, team dad

BOSTON — Kyle Gibson is content with the outcome, no matter what the primary intent was.

The 35-year-old right-hander believes the Orioles signed him to a one-year, $10 million contract this winter because he knows how to pitch and because he was having a solid campaign in 2022 before a few September hiccups pushed his season ERA over 5.00.

Gibson also believes Orioles general manager Mike Elias and manager Brandon Hyde coveted his durability and experience — seven big-league seasons with at least 29 starts made. In three of those seasons, Gibson posted an ERA under 4.00. He was an All-Star in 2021 and pitched in the World Series last year for the Philadelphia Phillies.

“Mike and Hyder, when I talked to them in the offseason, they were really clear,” said Gibson, who is the Opening Day starter Thursday afternoon at Fenway Park. “They were like, ‘Listen, we’re not bringing you in here because you’re a veteran and we need an old guy. We’re bringing you in because we believe in what you can do on the field, we believe in what you can do on the mound, and we need a pitcher like you.’ And that’s always good to hear.”

Gibson, though, is much too savvy to think the Orioles wanted him simply because of what he can do on the mound.

“Every team needs that ‘Team Dad’ feel, that dad vibe, so I guess that’s kind of where I’m at,” Gibson said. “I’m at a point in my career that I still believe in what I can do on the field, but I think there is some responsibility to hopefully pass down some things and hopefully help some guys through some early parts of their career. Just like I had. I’m enjoying that role.”

The 2022 Orioles had a team dad: right-hander Jordan Lyles, who made 32 starts and won 12 games with a 4.42 ERA while taking the rotation’s young starters under his wing.

Lyles turned 32 after last season and has had a decade of big-league service time, so he reluctantly accepted the moniker. Most times, anyway.

“Last year, me and Lyles would sit there, and I’d call him ‘Dad’ because he had 10-plus years in the big leagues,” Orioles pitcher Tyler Wells said. “And he was like, ‘Dude, I’m like three years older than you.’ And I’d be like, ‘Not in baseball years. Plus, you look a lot older than I do.’”

At 35, Gibson is the oldest player on the team by two years. He’s also a real-life dad, the father of three girls and a boy, spanning from 9 years old to 3 months. So, when Wells and others call him “Dad,” he cracks a half-smile. Figures it goes with the territory: Veteran leader.

“For me, (leadership) is just making sure that I’m being myself,” Gibson said. “If you want to help be a part of a culture, then how you act creates that culture. Young guys are going to look to the older guys in times of adversity and figure out how to act, figure out how to react. And if I’m the one reacting a certain way, that’s going to create that type of reaction in the locker room.”

When Gibson was deciding this winter whether to join the Orioles, he called two of his former teammates with the Texas Rangers: Lyles and catcher Robinson Chirinos. Both spent last season in Baltimore, and they raved about the Orioles’ culture and character.

Signing Gibson in essence put an end to the potential return of Lyles, who agreed to a two-year deal with the Kansas City Royals. Although there are differences, Lyles and Gibson are alike in how they conduct themselves and approach the game.

“Jordan and I are fairly similar. I probably talk a little bit — OK, I talk a lot — more than Jordan. But for the most part, I think we are pretty similar in how we go about our business,” Gibson said. “I’m not in here trying to make guys uncomfortable. I’m not in here to explode on guys for doing one thing wrong. And I know that’s not how Jordan is, either.”

Wells agrees that Gibson is more talkative, more outgoing than Lyles. But their accessibility, willingness to mentor and passion for the game are nearly the same.

“You’re taking one veteran who was a great guy, went out and competed every single time, took the ball whenever he could, stayed healthy all year, and he went out and competed. You are getting the same guy in Gibson,” Wells said. “I feel like if we weren’t able to get Lyles back after last year, I think that Gibby was a great person to fill those shoes.”

Gibson was selected in the first round of the 2009 MLB Draft by the Minnesota Twins and debuted in the majors in 2013. The next season he was a key member of the Twins rotation, making 31 starts, throwing nearly 180 innings and posting a 4.47 ERA.

He said he learned a ton that season from All-Star teammates such as Joe Mauer and Justin Morneau as well as several veteran pitchers. But it was veteran catcher Kurt Suzuki who continually showed him what a leader could do for young players.

“In my first full season, I was either giving up zero runs or I was giving up five runs. There was no in between,” Gibson said. “I had multiple starts where Suzuki took a trip to the mound and said, ‘Hey, I let you shake me off there, but I’m not letting it happen again. We need to stick to this plan, and I need you to be along with me.’”

Perhaps the most important teaching moment of Gibson’s young career occurred in September 2014. Gibson was facing the then-powerhouse Detroit Tigers and gave up two runs in the first inning. The Twins scored three runs for Gibson, but he immediately gave the lead back by allowing two more runs in the second.

Gibson came into the dugout after that inning, thinking, “Here we go again — another short outing in the big leagues.” But Suzuki had a different idea.

“(Suzuki) said, ‘Hey, we really need you to get through five innings tonight to save the bullpen,’” Gibson recalled. “I’m thinking to myself, ‘I’ve thrown 50 pitches in two innings and given up four runs, I’m just seeing if I can make it through the third.’”

Suzuki told Gibson the Tigers weren’t respecting his fastball so Suzuki was changing the game plan, pumping mostly fastballs until the Tigers started looking for it and hitting it.

The plan worked. Gibson held the Tigers scoreless through the sixth, and the Twins beat superstar David Price; Gibson earned the victory. Nine years later, that memory remains fresh.

“Just little things like that gave me a lot of perspective. Sometimes it really is easy to simplify things and make sure you are paying attention to the game even in your struggles,” Gibson said. “I never would have thought to go out there and throw a bunch of heaters. I had already given up four runs. But just his confidence in me and knowing how long he had played and how much he had accomplished gave me confidence in him. And I think that’s what a leader does for guys.”

Not a surprise. But always a cool moment. Kyle Gibson named Orioles’ Opening Day starter — and gets a chance at redemption considering his only other Opening Day start.
— Dan Connolly (@danconnolly2016) March 24, 2023

It’s no coincidence where Gibson’s locker was located in the Ed Smith Stadium clubhouse this spring: directly next to those of Grayson Rodriguez and DL Hall, the organization’s top pitching prospects.

“You always want some young guys to kind of be around the veterans that do it the right way, and Kyle has been one of those guys,” Hyde said. “Hope some of the stuff rubs off on two guys that we think have huge futures and high hopes for. That’s pretty much why we did that.”

Rodriguez and Hall said they took advantage of the proximity to Gibson. They talked pretty much daily. The primary topic wasn’t specific pitching mechanics or things like that. It was more about longevity: What’s Gibson’s secret to staying in the game so long? How has he stayed healthy, year in and year out? What adjustments did he have to make as his career progressed?

“It’s really been great being next to a veteran guy like him. He’s been around the block once or twice,” Rodriguez said. “So anytime I have questions, he’s able to answer them. He loves talking to young guys. He doesn’t turn us away. He basically accepts us with open arms. So, he’s been a good buddy to have.”

It’s not just the pitchers who have bonded with Gibson. In his first bullpen session this February, Gibson threw to Orioles catching phenom Adley Rutschman. Afterward, they talked for a few minutes, trying to get on the same page and understand each other’s strengths and weaknesses. Rutschman is already becoming a leader among the Orioles. But he said he’s watched Gibson closely this spring.

“He carries himself in the right way, and guys immediately respect him. And when he talks, people listen. That’s probably the A-one most important thing. He treats guys the right way,” Rutschman said. “I love the guy. Whatever he says, I’m going to be listening to.”

Good advice and a compassionate ear can only go so far. Gibson’s not a coach. He’s a big-league pitcher. He’s the Orioles’ Opening Day starter. He’s the tone-setter of this up-and-coming team.

And Gibson has something to prove — to himself, anyway.

He thought he was having a good season last year with the Phillies, posting a respectable 4.08 ERA heading into September. Then he ran into a wall, allowing five earned runs or more in four of his final six starts. Those performances cost him a chance to start in the postseason, something he has never done.

Still, he made two appearances in relief for Philadelphia during its playoff run, throwing 1 1/3 scoreless innings in the National League Championship Series and one scoreless inning in the World Series.

He wants that opportunity again. And he wants to show he can be effective for a full season at this point in his career.

“I struggled down the stretch, which obviously stands out,” he said. “I try to be critical of myself but also realistic. I understand that there’s obviously things I can get better at, but I can’t make knee-jerk reactions like, ‘I need to switch this and switch this.’ Because, overall, it wasn’t as bad as it looked at the end of the year.”

Gibson believes there are plenty of reasons to have optimism for him and the Orioles this season. He loves the club’s enthusiasm and willingness to work together. He’s excited to pitch in front of what he thinks is an elite defense and also a left-field wall that was pushed back and heightened in 2022. Camden Yards, he says, is one of his favorite parks in the majors.

He’s only contracted to be in Baltimore for this year, and he’s not sure what happens afterward, how much longer he’ll keep playing. This could be his last chance at an Opening Day assignment. He had one other, with the Texas Rangers in 2021, and it was a disaster; Gibson lasted only one-third of an inning and allowed five runs against the Kansas City Royals. He joked that Thursday has to go better; baseball-speaking, it’s nearly impossible to be worse.

Gibson looks, acts and even walks around like a future pitching coach.

He has all the attributes, all the patience, all the knowledge necessary for the job. But once he retires, he has no interest in being on the road again. He would love to stay with baseball, maybe work as a special assignment video scout from home, breaking down hitters’ tendencies and weaknesses. It’s one of his favorite parts of his current job.

If he ever goes into coaching, however, it likely would be at the amateur level around the St. Louis area, where he lives.

“I just think with middle school to high school kids, coaching is so tough because most of the time they are volunteer people that don’t necessarily have the ability to go and better themselves as a coach and really invest a lot of time,” Gibson said. “And so that’s probably where I’d rather coach. I’ve got all the time in the world, and I’m not looking to do it from any monetary standpoint.”

Inadvertently, he’s already building his resume. This offseason, he coached his 6-year-old son’s basketball team. He loved it. And that’s likely Gibson’s future when baseball finally tells him it’s time to leave: carving out new experiences with his four kids.

“My family, they’ve sacrificed a lot just for me to be here,” Gibson said. “The kids are getting to the point where they are old enough that they don’t want to leave me, and they just want to be around me.”

So, at some point Gibson is going to go home and be a full-time dad.

Not this year, though.

This year, he’s concentrating on fulfilling his responsibilities of being a big-league pitcher, a club leader and the Orioles’ new team dad.

(Photo: Kim Klement / USA Today)