Joe Gilbert

Joe Dennis Gilbert

• Bats Right, Throws Left
• Height 6' 1", Weight 167 lb.
• High School Newton (TX) High School
• Debut April 30, 1972
• Final Game July 15, 1973
• Born April 20, 1952 in Jasper, TX USA

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Biographical Information

Joe Gilbert pitched for the Montreal Expos in 1972 and 1973. He was one of the first players signed by the Expos to make it to the major leagues. He had been a 9th round selection in the 1970 amateur draft, but hadn't signed immediately. Instead, he played some semi-pro ball, and finally came to an agreement with legendary scout Red Murff that December. A lefthander with an excellent fastball, he quickly established himself as a top prospect, and while this allowed him to reach the major leagues quickly, it was also a curse as he had a grand total of one game's experience above Class A when he was called up to Montreal and made his debut on April 30, 1972, ten days after his twentieth birthday. The Expos only had one lefthander on their pitching staff at that time, veteran Denny Lemaster, and he was clearly running out of gas as he was handed his release a short while later after putting up an ERA of 7.78 in 13 games. So Gilbert became the sole lefty on the staff until the Expos called up another hard-throwing top prospect, Balor Moore, a few weeks later, and inserted him in the starting rotation. Moore did well, but not Gilbert, who stuck around for the remainder of the year in spite of struggling badly with an ERA of 8.45 and 18 walks in 33 innings. Manager Gene Mauch did not want to overexpose him, given his lack of professional experience, so he was mainly used in meaningless situations, with the game already decided and often went long stretches without seeing any action, not the best thing for someone needing to pitch in order to improve.

In 1973, in spite of his struggles as a rookie, he was back with the team at the start of the season, because there was still no other lefthander to round out the bullpen. Gilbert did somewhat better, going 1-2, 4.97 in 21 games, with 1 save, but he continued to be quite wild, with 19 walks in 29 innings, an even higher ratio than the previous year. He was finally sent down to the minors on July 16th, but by this point his confidence was shot, and he struggled with the AAA Peninsula Whips, with a 6.48 ERA in 6 starts, and was sent down one more level, to the AA Quebec Carnavals where he did better, going 2-2, 3.15 in 4 starts. In 1974, he spent the whole year with Quebec, going 8-8, 4.30 in 23 starts. In 134 innings, he struck out 94 batters but also walked 76. He still had a great fastball, but was unable to develop another pitch, and he was released after the season, his professional career over at 22.

In retrospect, it seems clear that the Expos made a mistake in having him spend a full season in the big leagues at age 20 when he obviously wasn't ready. It is likely that they had taken inspiration from the Chicago White Sox, who in 1971 had done the same thing with a similarly young lefty fireballer, Terry Forster, carrying him on their roster all season to have him learn his trade at the major league level instead of pitching in the minors. It turned out fine for Forster, but for Gilbert, it likely spelled his doom, as instead of learning to pitch in a relatively pressure-free environment, he was getting shelled on a regular basis by batters he did not have the tools to get out.