Kiners Korner Chronicles, No. 3: Gibson Outduels Seaver in Eleven

First-ever head-to-head of two future Hall of Famers goes 11 innings — Busch Stadium, St. Louis, May 6, 1968

Welcome to the Kiners Korner Chronicles.

This site is dedicated to Ralph Kiner and the legacy of the greatest sports postgame show ever, Kiner's Korner.

While researching our book, Down on the Korner, my co-author Howie Karpin and I tracked down as many surviving episodes of Kiner's Korner as we could find. Now, you can watch those treasured broadcasts right here on this site and relive the conversations, the characters, and the unforgettable moments that made Ralph's show so special.

But our search also taught us something heartbreaking: for every conversation we recovered, dozens more were lost — taped over, thrown out, or gone forever.

So we're doing the next best thing. Through the power of AI and deep research into the old games, we hope to recreate a little bit of that magic. The game recaps are real, built from the box score. The interviews that follow are our best imagining of the conversations that were lost — what Ralph would have asked, and what his guest might have answered.

The Game

ST. LOUIS, Mo. — On a Monday night at Busch Stadium, before 12,741 fans, Bob Gibson and Tom Seaver staged the first head-to-head duel of their careers — and it took eleven innings to settle. When it was over, the St. Louis Cardinals had beaten the New York Mets 2-1 in two hours and ten minutes, and both future Hall of Famers had gone the distance.

Gibson's line read like a mission statement: eleven innings, three hits, one run, one walk, eleven strikeouts on 109 pitches. All three hits were singles in the fourth inning; after that, he retired 22 of 23 batters, and the only Met to reach base the rest of the night was Ron Swoboda's seventh-inning walk. His eleventh inning was 1-2-3 — his ninth 1-2-3 inning of the night. Bill James's Game Score formula rates the start a 97 — Gibson's best of 1968.

Seaver, the 23-year-old reigning National League Rookie of the Year, was nearly his equal: ten innings, six hits, two runs (one earned), three walks — two of them intentional — and six strikeouts on 120 pitches. The Mets touched Gibson only in the fourth, when singles by Bud Harrelson, Ken Boswell, and Art Shamsky tied the game at one. A Tim McCarver passed ball moved the runners up, but when Swoboda lifted a fly to Curt Flood in center, Boswell broke for home, missed the plate, and was tagged out by McCarver — a double play, center to catcher, that kept the tie.

The Cardinals' first run had come gift-wrapped in the second: McCarver singled, Mike Shannon reached when Ed Kranepool's throw skipped off Harrelson's chest, and Julian Javier singled McCarver home — unearned. The winner came in the eleventh. Seaver came back out for the inning and faced four batters: Lou Brock led off with a triple to center, and the Mets intentionally walked Flood and then Roger Maris to load the bases with nobody out. Orlando Cepeda singled to right, Brock scored, and the duel was over. Afterward, Seaver told writers: "I was frustrated after the game, but not during it... A pitcher has to maintain his composure and retain control of the game." Dick Young of the Daily News summed up the night in six words: "Gibson and Seaver are magnificent."

Ralph's Guest

Dramatic recreation — not an authentic broadcast still.

The 32-year-old ace of the Cardinals, seven months removed from three complete-game victories over the Boston Red Sox — and a second World Series MVP award. The Omaha kid who warmed his dead arm under a heat lamp for twenty minutes before first pitch, five days after throwing 179 pitches across twelve innings in Houston, and went out and threw eleven more.

The Interview (imagined)

What follows is a dramatic recreation. The game was real. The conversation is our imagining of the Kiner's Korner segment that likely aired that night — the tapes of those early shows were erased long ago.

Ralph: Bob, thank you for sitting down. Eleven innings, three hits, eleven strikeouts, one walk, 109 pitches, and a 2-1 win over Tom Seaver in the first head-to-head meeting of your careers. When did you know tonight was going to be something special?

Gibson: Probably around the fifth inning, Ralph. After that fourth, I settled in.

Tom wasn't giving up anything either, so it was just take your turn and go sit down.

Ralph: The first run of the night came gift-wrapped in the second. Tim McCarver singles, Mike Shannon reaches when Ed Kranepool's throw skips off Buddy Harrelson's chest, and Julian Javier singles McCarver home. An unearned run, and for a long while it looked like it might stand up.

Gibson: I'll take a run any way it comes, Ralph. Timmy got a good pitch to hit there. After that I figured one run might have to be enough.

Ralph: The only three hits you allowed all night came in the fourth. Buddy Harrelson singles, Ken Boswell singles, Art Shamsky singles Harrelson home to tie it at one. McCarver lets a pitch get by and the runners move up, and then Ron Swoboda lifts a fly ball to Curt Flood in center. Boswell tags and breaks for home, misses the plate, and McCarver slaps the tag on him. Double play, center to catcher. Walk me through that play.

Gibson: I saw Flood make the throw, and I saw Timmy waiting at the plate. When Boswell missed it — well, you don't get many second chances with Tim McCarver behind the plate. That play might have won the ballgame right there.

Ralph: Now the numbers the writers will be chewing on. Bill James's Game Score formula gives tonight a 97, your best start of the season. And here's the part that staggers me. Five days ago you threw a twelve-inning complete game in Houston. One hundred seventy-nine pitches. Tonight you warmed your arm under a heat lamp for twenty minutes before the game. Bob, what did that arm feel like out there?

Gibson: My arm doesn't hurt half as much as it will tomorrow, Ralph. But that's the price you pay if you want to be a pitcher.

Ralph: After the fourth you retired 22 of 23 batters. The only Met to reach the rest of the night was Swoboda's walk in the seventh. Your eleventh inning was 1-2-3 — your ninth 1-2-3 inning of the night. Were you tired?

Gibson: You're always tired in the eleventh. But you don't tell your legs that. You just make pitches. Nobody was hitting anything hard by then.

Ralph: A moment in the tenth I have to ask about. Tom Seaver had already thrown ten innings of six-hit ball, and he struck you out to end the inning. The two of you trading zeroes all night, and Seaver gets the last word in your personal battle. What was that at-bat like?

Gibson: He threw me a good fastball and I missed it. Tom's going to be around a long time. You could see it tonight.

Ralph: Dick Young wrote this morning that Gibson and Seaver are magnificent. And Seaver said after the game that he was frustrated after, but not during — that a pitcher has to maintain his composure and retain control of the game. Did you feel that composure coming back at you all night?

Gibson: I did. He never gave in, not once. That's why it took eleven innings.

Ralph: Which brings us to the eleventh. Seaver came back out and faced four batters. Lou Brock led off with a triple to center, and then the intentional walks — Flood, and then Roger Maris — loading the bases with nobody out. You're watching from the dugout as the winning pitcher. What were you thinking when they walked Maris on purpose?

Gibson: I was thinking, don't pop up, Orlando. Give us a ball in play. Brock can fly. And Cepeda put it in right field where nobody could catch it.

Ralph: Orlando Cepeda singles to right, Brock scores, and it's 2-1. Last thing, Bob. Last October you won three complete games against the Red Sox and your second World Series Most Valuable Player award. Tonight was May 6th, and people are already whispering about the kind of year you're having. Is this the best you've ever felt on a mound?

Gibson: Ralph, it's May 6th. Ask me in October. But I'll tell you this. I like our club, and I like the ball in my hand.

Ralph: Bob Gibson. Eleven innings, eleven strikeouts, and the first of many duels with Tom Seaver. We'll be right back.

Full box score — click to enlarge.

Box score: Retrosheet. Game account: SABR Games Project. The audio companion to this article — the Flag of Victory Polka, the disclaimer, and the full imagined interview — is available with this post.