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Cumberland Times News, Md.
Southern grad JR Gibson 'walking on air' during son's MLB debut
- Story byCumberland Times News, Md.
- Southern grad JR Gibson 'walking on air' during son's MLB debut
As a three-sport standout at Southern Garrett, JR Gibson had a work ethic instilled in him by Tom Woods, Oren Yoder and Jim Bosley.
Gibson went on to play football at the Catholic University of America and join the Navy. He was shipped to Norfolk, "met a girl," started a family and, as they say, the rest is history.
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He passed the wisdom he learned during his youth in Garrett County to his children, Trey and Nikki — some of which he didn't fully appreciate until later in life.
It came full circle on Sunday when Gibson and wife Karen sat in the bleachers at Yankee Stadium, the last stop of a whirlwind trip to see their son, Trey Gibson, make his Major League pitching debut with the Baltimore Orioles .
"It was surreal," said JR Gibson, a 1985 Southern Garrett graduate. "It was like in the movies and dreams just coming true. You play sports and one day think, 'I want to go pro, and I'm playing against the Yankees .' I felt like I was walking on air the whole time. I was seeing history."
Gibson wasn't exaggerating. Trey's debut was the first by an Oriole pitcher at Yankee Stadium in team history.
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The 6-foot-5, 240-pound right-hander was thrust into the starting rotation after Injured List stints by Trevor Rogers and Dean Kremer and a season-ending injury to Zach Eflin (Tommy John surgery).
He performed admirably.
Gibson held a powerful New York lineup to three runs on four hits in 4 2/3 frames, striking out two and walking two in a game Baltimore went on to lose 11-3.
"I was watching replays and people were sending me stuff, and they're showing me and Karen, and I just had to put the phone down," JR Gibson said. "I just had to watch the game and live in the moment."
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Trey Gibson made two mistakes, a first-pitch curveball that Ben Rice put into the right-field bleachers, and a 1-0 curve to Aaron Judge for a two-run homer to center.
There's no shame in that. Judge is tied for the MLB lead with Japanese White Sox sensation Munetaka Murakami with 14 dingers, and Rice is tied for third with 12.
Gibson was optioned to Triple-A Norfolk on Monday for some more seasoning. He'll get a legitimate opportunity to crack the starting rotation next season.
Gibson, 23, is the No. 3 prospect in the Orioles' organization, the top pitcher in the system and was the Jim Palmer Minor League Pitcher of the Year Award winner in 2025.
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A graduate from Grafton High School in Yorktown, Virginia, Gibson signed with Baltimore as an undrafted free agent in 2023 following two years at Liberty University.
Gibson, who has a 4.01 ERA with 25 strikeouts in 24 2/3 innings across six Triple-A starts this year, is known for his deep arsenal, which features a fastball, curveball, cutter, changeup and slider.
His slider is considered his best pitch, one he calls his "death ball."
That mix was on full display in his debut, as he threw 24 sliders, 18 sinkers, 16 four-seam fastballs, 15 cutters and 14 curveballs.
While his parents in the stands could hardly breathe, Gibson was dialed in.
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"To be honest, leading up to the game, I wasn't as nervous as I thought I would be," Gibson said after the game. "I felt pretty composed with myself."
When Trey Gibson's night was done, his parents were approached by the Orioles for an in-game interview on MASN.
"We sit down, and my mouth just went dry, and I just picked up whoever's beer it was in front of me and started chugging it," JR Gibson said. "The camera starts rolling right at the time I was chugging it, and I was like, 'Oh my god.'"
All-in-all, it was a successful weekend for the Gibson family, one that began with the parents staying at a hotel near Stetson University in Florida to see their daughter wrap up her softball career at Florida Gulf Coast University.
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They got the call on Friday from Trey, stayed at a hotel in Punta Gorda, Florida, on Saturday, woke up Sunday morning, drove to the airport and flew to LaGuardia Airport in New York before commuting to the Bronx.
An Orioles employee approached the pair to give them Orioles gear since they were still wearing FGCU attire.
JR Gibson was a Pirates fan growing up in Oakland, though he became more interested in the birds with the influence of his buddy Scott Stem, an Orioles fan.
His uncle is former Garrett College basketball coach Dennis Gibson, who coached the Lakers to a 714-397 record in 36 years and took four teams to the NJCAA national tournament with a program-best fourth-place finish in 2020-21.
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"Back then it was all about sports," JR Gibson recounted of his time at Southern. "Our senior year, playing the first playoff football game at home. Getting a new scoreboard. Basketball, going down to states.
"Then in baseball, unfortunately that's a bad experience, making the final out in the playoff game, looking. I wish I had ABS (Automated Ball-Strike) back then."
Ironically, his son would've finished the fifth inning if Adley Rutschman had challenged ball 3 to Judge, who went on to walk and end Gibson's day at 4 2/3 frames.
After settling down in Virginia, Gibson had a 26-year career as a manufacturing technician making fuel injectors.
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Gibson now works at Liebherr Mining in Newport News, Virginia, where he's a facility maintenance technician.
His experiences playing football for Woods, basketball for Yoder and baseball for Bosley helped shape him professionally, too.
"It has taught me the work ethic," he said. "You know, nose to the grindstone, ears open, head down, but see everything, feel everything, and just keep working hard."
Gibson still goes to Garrett County a few times a year, and he'll be back in July for a celebration of life for his father, Zack Gibson, who passed away in February at 84.
His father, formerly of Crellin, was a Southern Garrett graduate in 1961 and served in the United States Air Force.
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"I love Garrett County," Gibson said. "I always wish I could have more time to go back and just hang out, but my life gets busy."
If his son keeps progressing, that won't change anytime soon.
