[Amazin69]

Originally Posted by Merkle923

Actually the ultimate Sharmanite is a pitcher named Joel Gibson, who spent all of 1964 on the Phillies' DL after a car accident, AND spent all of '65 on the White Sox DL. Pitched in a few exhibition games. Never in a real one.

Not quite. In 1965, Gibson was no longer rehabbing from the 1963 injury (suffered during winter ball in Puerto Rico; the driver was killed, Dennis Bennett was thrown through the windshield and also seriously injured, Giibson's ankle was crushed in the back seat, and Mrs. Gibson and Coach Al Widmar, also in the back, sustained minor injuries). He returned in 1964, going 10-7 for the Phillies' AAA team in Arkansas, then was sent in the offseason to the White Sox to complete the previous Bill Heath for Rudy May trade.

In 1965, he was having a fine spring training, and Al Lopez told Gibson he was going to start the home opener against Washington (the 3rd game of the season). Then he took a J.C. Martin liner off the wrist (which is why you don't have your starters pitch batting practice, Señor!), breaking the bone, and missed the start of the season, but he did pitch that year. (Gibson later said he rushed his rehab because Lopez told him he was still considered part of the starting rotation, and hurt his shoulder.) He pitched okay at AA Lynchburg, but struggled when promoted to AAA Indianapolis late in the season. The next year, he continued to struggle at Indianapolis, and when the White Sox wanted to demote him to Lynchburg (at a cut in pay) and convert him to relieving, he retired instead.

1977 interview with Gibson. He also mentions that the pre-birth Expos expressed an interest in him joining their system in 1968, but he had a job and they weren't paying anything, so he declined.

(Also, more details on the accident, from a 1964 profile of Bennett.)

So while it took two separate injuries to keep Gibson's Sharmanite status intact, he only spent one full season on the major-league disabled list, although he was probably there for at least part of 1965, as well.

Somewhat along those lines, I found this picture (Corbis/Bettmann/UPI) of our old friend Larry Staab, who apparently qualified for Sharmanhood as an 18-year-old in 1962. The teen Dodger lefty spent the first month of 1962 with the big club (he's seen here waiting to congratulate Sandy Koufax after Koufax struck out 18 Cubs on April 24th).



(On a side note, I wonder who #46 is, as the Dodgers didn't have anyone wearing that number in 1962. Another Sharmanite?)

After Staab was sent down, still unused, at the cut-down date, he spent the remainder of the decade in the minors, eventually suffering the arm injury that cost him the entire 1968 season. But he got a second chance on a big-league roster when the Indians took him in the Rule V draft in the winter 1969/70 and had him penciled in to their rotation; however, the Tribe changed their minds after a poor spring and returned him to the Dodgers, who sold him to Rochester (Orioles AAA) at midseason, and after two games with Denver in 1971, he was done.

ETA: Dang, I take a couple hours off from researching the largely-irrelevant Larry Staab details, and Cusick beats me to the punch! Must.Post.Faster. (And good job, Cusick.)

ETAA: Actually, now that I think about it, I'm pretty sure the J.C. Martin liner was in an intra-squad game, not batting practice. So it was regular work, and while the "friendly fire" aspect probably made it more galling for Gibson, it could have happened at any time.