All Things Gibby Go In Here.

http://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060131/SPORTS02/601310444/1050


Gibson is happy at home
He says he enjoys being with his kids

Kirk Gibson, homebody?

Gibson, out of baseball since October, said Monday that he's in no hurry to return to the game. He lost his job as the Tigers' hitting coach when manager Alan Trammell was fired, and now he's spending time with his family.

"I have four children," ages 12 to 29, Gibson said just before hopping onto the set of Fox Sports Net's "Best Damn Sports Show Period." "So I prefer to stay home. It would have to be a really good situation for me to leave home."

Gibson, who lives in suburban Detroit, was the Tigers' bench coach for 2 1/2 seasons before becoming the hitting coach last summer. He remains a popular figure around town from his playing days.

When Gibson arrived on the set of "Best Damn Sports Show Period," he was greeted by chants of "Gibby! Gibby!"

With no job in baseball, Gibson is involved in youth hockey and in a project to raise $6 million to $7 million to renovate Kobs Field, the baseball stadium at his alma mater, Michigan State University.

"I'm an active guy," said Gibson, 48. "And I want to remain active. I take care of my assets, and then I go be a dad."

Gibson played 17 years in the majors and is best remembered for his heroics in the 1984 World Series with the Tigers and the 1988 Series with the Los Angeles Dodgers.

After retirement, he worked as a television analyst for the Tigers, then was part of a sports talk show on WXYT-AM (1270) before joining ex-teammate and manager Alan Trammell's coaching staff.

Gibson also knows a little about football. He was an All-America wide receiver at MSU. But he was booed on the TV show Monday when he said he was rooting for the Seattle Seahawks in the Super Bowl.

The boos turned to cheers when the conversation turned to Gibson's days with the Tigers and at MSU.

At MSU, "I was on football scholarship for the first three years," Gibson said on the "Best Damn Sports Show," taped at the Hard Rock Café on Monroe Street. "And then my football coach, Darryl Rogers, said he thought I should go out and play a year of baseball just so I could have better leverage in the NFL. I fully planned on being in the NFL.

"I played one year at State, was an All-American, got a chance to play at Tiger Stadium, where I grew up. At the time, it seemed to be a better career. The length of career, the collective-bargaining agreement was better. I got a world championship, so it worked out pretty good."

Gibson recalled how he almost quit playing baseball.

"I didn't like the high fastball," he said on the show. "They just kept throwing it up there and throwing it up there. And I should have quit, probably. I'm hard-headed enough, I'm dedicated enough, I didn't quit, and finally things started to turn around."

Gibson said he had no opinions about the 2006 Tigers and holds no grudges against the organization.

"Why would I?" he said. "I'm a lifetime Red Wings and Pistons and Lions and Tigers fan, and that will remain the same."

I always thought he was a jerk, and have a heard a lot of people say the same.

Great player, though.