Making his way from the Orioles’ dining room to his locker during last weekend’s clubhouse celebration, Kyle Gibson paused every couple of steps, bending over to gather soaked champagne corks off the plastic sheets layered on the ground.
The veteran right-hander has been fortunate in his major league career to be involved in several such revelries, having gone to the World Series with the Philadelphia Phillies. Taking the small keepsakes home to his four children helps them feel as if they were part of the party, but he also makes sure to keep some for himself.
“You just never know when you’re gonna get to do it again,” Gibson said. “You enjoy each moment, find little things to take with you so you can think back on these times because not every day’s fun, but you don’t get to do this a lot, so you’ve got to enjoy it.”
Gibson has savored this season with Baltimore, providing the veteran presence that was expected when the Orioles signed him to a one-year, $10 million contract in December. He enters his 32nd start Sunday with 180 innings pitched, the most by an Oriole since 2017. And although Gibson’s 5.00 ERA is unsightly, his underlying metrics are kinder, with a handful of poor showings souring the fact that half of his outings have been quality starts. His 2.3 wins above replacement, according to FanGraphs, ranks third on the club’s pitching staff, though whether he lands a spot in Baltimore’s postseason rotation could come down to his performance in what’s lined up to be two more regular-season outings.
But the 35-year-old’s impact, both with the Orioles and in Baltimore, has gone beyond his efforts on the mound. Gibson was , the majors’ top honor recognizing players for their humanitarian efforts. He’s the vice president of Big League Impact, a nonprofit working to pair major leaguers with charities in their local communities, and he’s partnered with several groups in Baltimore throughout the season for events to benefit various causes.
For the many Orioles still relatively early in their careers, he’s served as an example of how to blend quality on and off the field.
“I’d gladly follow him blindly in any aspect of life,” fellow starter Dean Kremer said. “First and foremost, he’s an incredible human. Really cares about the people that are less fortunate and trying to make an impact that way.
“It shows us that baseball isn’t the only thing.”
Gibson traced his philanthropic nature to his boyhood in Indiana, when his travel ball team received a sizable donation and his father sent the 10-year-olds to rake leaves in the man’s three-acre backyard, an act of community service that taught Gibson the importance of giving back. He and his wife, Elizabeth, volunteered through church and sports growing up, with Gibson participating in baseball camps in high school and at the University of Missouri.
“As we got the time and the finances to be able to really pour into things that we became passionate about, leaning into our faith and understanding that we’ve been given more than most, and if we are not necessarily using that in a way to help people, I don’t necessarily feel like that’s the right way to hold it and the right way to do it,” Gibson said. “I feel like what we’ve been given is a gift, and if we can use those gifts to help other people, that’s what we’re trying to do.”
With the Orioles, Gibson’s charitable efforts have benefited several causes, including children facing hunger and illnesses, single parents, and service members. Over his 10-year career, he has raised almost $500,000, with this season’s Clemente Award nomination being his third after he was also recognized in 2019 with the Minnesota Twins and last year with the Phillies.
This year, he launched an “#ALLWIN” campaign through Big League Impact, where he donates to the Maryland Food Bank for each of his strikeouts and to House of Ruth Maryland, which supports women escaping domestic violence, for each Orioles win. Teammates Cedric Mullins, Tyler Wells and Austin Hays also have their own causes for various achievements.
“That’s special,” Hays said, “when you have a guy that is leading the team from a physical aspect or an athletic aspect on the field, and then off the field, he’s leading the team as well in just how to be a good human and how to treat people the right way and how to help people that aren’t as fortunate.
“He’s a great leader for us, especially us younger guys that just haven’t really learned how to do a lot of stuff off the field.”
Even when the club is on the road, Gibson has found groups to work with. He volunteered with City of Refuge, a faith-based organization helping those in poverty, when the Orioles played in Atlanta earlier this season, and that led to a connection with the nonprofit’s Baltimore chapter, with Gibson coordinating an event at Topgolf where several other Orioles volunteered to spend time with fans.
“It’s definitely eye-opening,” Mullins said. “It definitely shows that you can branch out way past just even your community and city that you play for. He’s something that a lot of us are striving to be as we progress in our careers.”
Gibson’s efforts include work in Haiti, as well, including assisting in the construction of a high school there. He has also filled in for left-hander Cole Irvin on a handful of events that took place while Irvin was with Triple-A Norfolk, including a May donation of bicycles to kindergartners through All Kids Bike.
“It’s just part of who he is,” Irvin said. “He’s just an example of how you show up every day as a professional. You get your work in, but off the field, you can do more in your community and make an impact and be an extension from our clubhouse to the fans, be an extension to our city, and he truly shows exactly those steps. He shows you how it’s done.”
He’s done the same when it comes to baseball. Kremer and Kyle Bradish, two young right-handers in the rotation Gibson has steadied, credited him for his lessons on pregame scouting. Bradish said he’s also helped in understanding how to read opposing hitters’ swings, while Kremer noted he’s worked with Gibson to improve his mental approach.
“Kyle’s been an amazing mentor to our young pitching staff,” manager Brandon Hyde said. “Just done a great job in our clubhouse with our young pitchers, with our team in general. He’s got a ton of energy in the dugout during the game, and he does amazing work off the field and is incredibly unselfish.
“He is just a really good guy that’s unselfish in so many ways and cares about others and wants to give and wants to give back. Just a really special guy.”
A free agent after this season, Gibson’s future in Baltimore is uncertain, but between his mentorship of younger players and his work in the community, he’ll leave a lasting impact. The same is true of his previous stops. He and Elizabeth remain involved with Every Meal, a nonprofit in Minnesota that works to fill food gaps for children on weekends or extended breaks when they’re not able to have school-provided meals.
Gibson said he and St. Louis Cardinals pitcher Adam Wainwright, the founder and president of Big League Impact, have enjoyed seeing teammates go to other clubs and continue to do philanthropic work through the organization, or in Gibson’s case, see former teammates stick with it after he changes teams.
Regardless of what’s next, he senses the same possibility in Baltimore.
“It just shows that there’s a lot of guys in this locker room that really care about helping people,” he said. “What Big League Impact is trying to do is give them the avenues and give them the ways to do it.
“We can show players that, hey, there’s ways to get involved.”
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