Cardinals legend Gibson making progress in cancer treatment

Legendary St. Louis Cardinals right-hander Bob Gibson was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer last summer and started undergoing regular chemotherapy treatment. In the months since, the sessions have reduced in frequency and the 84-year-old says he is in good health.

"The reaper came the other day - and I wouldn't answer the door," Gibson recently said, according to Rick Hummel of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.

Gibson's chemo treatments have gone from once a week to once every three weeks, and he would have been able to attend the Cardinals' home opener if the season hadn't been postponed due to COVID-19.

The eight-time All-Star is encouraged by the progress he's made.

"I don't know where I'm going with this disease but they'll take some tests and they'll see where it is," he said. "But I'm not in any pain. I haven't been in any for two months, maybe three. I've been doing this (rehab) for eight months now.

"I had a lot of pain in July, August, and September and then in the fall, it stopped hurting. But I had backaches and stomachaches. Right now, I don’t have anything aching at all. The only way I know I'm sick is that the doctor keeps telling me. I tell him, 'Bull(feathers).'"

Gibson was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1981 after a remarkable 17-year career spent entirely with the Cardinals. He authored possibly the finest season ever by a pitcher when he went 22-9 with a live-ball era-record 1.12 ERA, 0.85 WHIP, and 28 complete games (13 shutouts) across 304 2/3 innings in 1968 when he earned both the National League Cy Young and Most Valuable Player awards.