Mark Steven Gubicza (; born August 14, 1962), nicknamed "Gubie," is an American former professional
baseball
Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding t ...
pitcher
In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("pitches") the baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of retiring a batter, who attempts to either make contact with the pitched ball or draw ...
Anaheim Angels
The Los Angeles Angels are an American professional baseball team based in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. The Angels compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division. Since 1966, the team h ...
(1997). He is a
color commentator
A color commentator or expert commentator is a sports commentator who assists the main ( play-by-play) commentator, typically by filling in when play is not in progress. The phrase "colour commentator" is primarily used in Canadian English and ...
for
Los Angeles Angels
The Los Angeles Angels are an American professional baseball team based in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. The Angels compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division. Since 1966, the team h ...
games on
Bally Sports West
Bally Sports West is an American regional sports network owned by Diamond Sports Group, a joint venture between Sinclair Broadcast Group and Entertainment Studios, and operated as part of Bally Sports, along with its sister network Bally Spor ...
.
After being drafted out of
William Penn Charter School
William Penn Charter School (commonly known as Penn Charter or simply PC) is an independent school in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It was founded in 1689 at the urging of William Penn as the "Public Grammar School" and chartered in 1689 to be op ...
in the second round of the
1981 Major League Baseball draft
First round selections
The following are the first round picks in the 1981 Major League Baseball draft.
Compensation Picks
Other notable players
*Darrin Jackson, 2nd round, 28th overall by the Chicago Cubs
*Mike Gallego, 2nd round, 33 ...
and playing three seasons in the minor leagues, Gubicza spent nearly all of his MLB career with the Royals, making all but two of his career appearances with the team. He was a mainstay in the Royals starting rotation for years, earning back-to-back
MLB All-Star
The Major League Baseball All-Star Game, also known as the "Midsummer Classic", is an annual professional baseball game sanctioned by Major League Baseball (MLB) and contested between the all-stars from the American League (AL) and National ...
selections in 1988 and 1989 and making an Opening Day start for the team in 1989. Gubicza played a reduced number of games later in his career due to three arm injuries and a leg injury between 1990 and 1997. He was traded to the
Anaheim Angels
The Los Angeles Angels are an American professional baseball team based in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. The Angels compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division. Since 1966, the team h ...
before the 1997 season and retired after that year.
At the time of his retirement, Gubicza held the Royals franchise record for strikeouts with 1,366, was third in wins at 132, and was second in pitching
wins above replacement
Wins Above Replacement or Wins Above Replacement Player, commonly abbreviated to WAR or WARP, is a non-standardized sabermetric baseball statistic developed to sum up "a player's total contributions to his team". A player's WAR value is claimed to ...
with 38.0. He was inducted into the
Kansas City Royals Hall of Fame
The Kansas City Royals are an American professional baseball team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Royals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. The team was founded as an expans ...
in 2006. Following his playing career, Gubicza became a sportscaster and worked in various roles before joining the Angels broadcast booth on Fox Sports West as a color commentator in 2007.
Early life
Mark Gubicza was born on August 14, 1962, in
Philadelphia
Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, largest city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the List of United States cities by population, sixth-largest city i ...
. He is the son of Anthony Gubicza Jr., who pitched in the
Chicago White Sox
The Chicago White Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The White Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. The team is owned by Jerry Reinsdorf, and ...
organization for three years and later served as a part-time coach for the
Villanova Wildcats
The Villanova Wildcats are the athletic teams of Villanova University. They compete in the Big East (NCAA Division I) for every sport; except football and rowing where they compete in the Colonial Athletic Association ( Football Championship ...
Polish
Polish may refer to:
* Anything from or related to Poland, a country in Europe
* Polish language
* Poles
Poles,, ; singular masculine: ''Polak'', singular feminine: ''Polka'' or Polish people, are a West Slavic nation and ethnic group, w ...
ancestry.
Growing up, Gubicza was interested in several sports, including baseball,
basketball
Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular court, compete with the primary objective of shooting a basketball (approximately in diameter) through the defender's h ...
hockey
Hockey is a term used to denote a family of various types of both summer and winter team sports which originated on either an outdoor field, sheet of ice, or dry floor such as in a gymnasium. While these sports vary in specific rules, numbers o ...
, and
boxing
Boxing (also known as "Western boxing" or "pugilism") is a combat sport in which two people, usually wearing protective gloves and other protective equipment such as hand wraps and mouthguards, throw punches at each other for a predetermine ...
. In
Little League
Little League Baseball and Softball (officially, Little League Baseball Inc) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organizationshortstop
Shortstop, abbreviated SS, is the baseball or softball fielding position between second and third base, which is considered to be among the most demanding defensive positions. Historically the position was assigned to defensive specialists wh ...
and pitched. In one 17-game stretch in Little League, Gubizca accrued 57 hits. Gubicza attended the
William Penn Charter School
William Penn Charter School (commonly known as Penn Charter or simply PC) is an independent school in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It was founded in 1689 at the urging of William Penn as the "Public Grammar School" and chartered in 1689 to be op ...
where he was teammates with eventual professional player Rubén Amaro Jr. Though he grew up in Philadelphia, he idolized
Baltimore Orioles
The Baltimore Orioles are an American professional baseball team based in Baltimore. The Orioles compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. As one of the American League's eight charter ...
pitcher
Jim Palmer
James Alvin Palmer (born October 15, 1945) is an American former professional baseball pitcher who played 19 years in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Baltimore Orioles (1965–1967, 1969–1984). Palmer was the winningest MLB pitcher in the ...
. Coming out of high school, Gubicza had collegiate offers from
Georgia
Georgia most commonly refers to:
* Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia
* Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States
Georgia may also refer to:
Places
Historical states and entities
* Related to the ...
,
Duke
Duke is a male title either of a monarch ruling over a duchy, or of a member of royalty, or nobility. As rulers, dukes are ranked below emperors, kings, grand princes, grand dukes, and sovereign princes. As royalty or nobility, they are rank ...
, and USC, among others. Gubicza and his father were present at
Veterans Stadium
Veterans Stadium was a multi-purpose stadium in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States, at the northeast corner of Broad Street and Pattison Avenue, part of the South Philadelphia Sports Complex. The seating capacities were 65,358 for foo ...
for game six of the
1980 World Series
The 1980 World Series was the championship series of Major League Baseball's (MLB) season. The 77th edition of the World Series, it was a best-of-seven playoff played between the National League (NL) champion Philadelphia Phillies and the Ameri ...
Gubicza was drafted by the Kansas City Royals in the second round of the
1981 Major League Baseball draft
First round selections
The following are the first round picks in the 1981 Major League Baseball draft.
Compensation Picks
Other notable players
*Darrin Jackson, 2nd round, 28th overall by the Chicago Cubs
*Mike Gallego, 2nd round, 33 ...
, the 34th overall pick. He began his professional baseball career at age 18 with the Royals Gold in the
Gulf Coast League
The Florida Complex League (FCL) is a rookie-level Minor League Baseball league that operates in Florida, United States. Before 2021, it was known as the Gulf Coast League (GCL). Together with the Arizona Complex League (ACL), it forms the l ...
, where he went 8-1 with a 2.25
earned run average
In baseball statistics, earned run average (ERA) is the average of earned runs allowed by a pitcher per nine innings pitched (i.e. the traditional length of a game). It is determined by dividing the number of earned runs allowed by the number ...
(ERA) and 40 strikeouts in 56 innings. Gubicza played for the
Fort Myers Royals
The Fort Myers Royals were a minor league affiliate of the Kansas City Royals from 1978 to 1987. In 1978 the Royals were brought to Fort Myers, Florida by the Kansas City franchise. This was because Fort Myers served as the spring training home ...
in the Florida State Class A League in 1982 and missed most of the season due to injuries. In 1983, he was assigned to the
Jacksonville Suns
The Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League (IL) and the Triple-A affiliate of the Miami Marlins. They are located in Jacksonville, Florida, and are named for shrimp caught in the area. The team pla ...
, the Royals Double-A team in the Southern League, managed by Gene Lamont. Gubicza was 14–12 with a 2.72 ERA and 146 strikeouts in 196 innings.
1984–1986: Early success
On April 6, 1984, Gubicza made his major league debut against the
Cleveland Indians
The Cleveland Guardians are an American professional baseball team based in Cleveland. The Guardians compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. Since , they have played at Progressive Fi ...
at
Royals Stadium
Kauffman Stadium (), often called "The K", is a baseball stadium located in Kansas City, Missouri. It is home to the Kansas City Royals of Major League Baseball (MLB). It is part of the Truman Sports Complex together with the adjacent Arrowhead S ...
at the age of 21. He pitched 6 innings, gave up 5 hits, 1 run, and struck out 4. Through the first 10 starts of his career, Gubicza posted a 3.14 ERA across 66 innings. He threw his first
shutout
In team sports, a shutout ( US) or clean sheet ( UK) is a game in which one team prevents the other from scoring any points. While possible in most major sports, they are highly improbable in some sports, such as basketball.
Shutouts are usuall ...
on May 12 against the
Boston Red Sox
The Boston Red Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Boston. The Red Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. Founded in as one of the American League's eigh ...
. Despite Gubicza's pitching stats, he did not accrue many wins as the Royals had trouble providing
run support
Run support is a baseball statistic
Baseball statistics play an important role in evaluating the progress of a player or team.
Since the flow of a baseball game has natural breaks to it, and normally players act individually rather than performi ...
during his starts. Following a 3–0 loss to the Minnesota Twins on June 15 where he pitched innings and gave up 2
earned run
In baseball, an earned run is any run that was fully enabled by the offensive team's production in the face of competent play from the defensive team. Conversely, an unearned run is a run that would not have been scored without the aid of an erro ...
s, Gubicza dropped to a 3–6 record on the season. It was the fourth time that season that the Royals were shut out while Gubicza was pitching and the seventh time that the Royals scored three or fewer runs in one of his starts. By the end of the regular season, Gubicza had a 10–14 record with a 4.05 ERA across 189 innings. The Royals offense provided an average of 4.06 runs per Gubicza start, nearly equal to his ERA. Despite being a member of the four-man rotation that helped the Royals win the
American League West
The American League West is one of Major League Baseball's six divisions. The division has five teams as of the 2013 season, but had four teams from 1994 to 2012, and had as many as seven teams before the 1994 realignment. Although its teams curr ...
ern division that year, Gubicza did not get a chance to pitch in the
1984 American League Championship Series
The 1984 American League Championship Series matched the East Division champion Detroit Tigers against the West Division champion Kansas City Royals. The Tigers took the series in a three-game sweep to advance to the 1984 World Series against th ...
because Kansas City was swept in three games by the eventual World Series champion Detroit Tigers team.
For his sophomore season in 1985, Gubicza joined a five-man rotation alongside
Bud Black
Harry Ralston "Bud" Black (born June 30, 1957) is an American professional baseball manager and former player who is the manager of the Colorado Rockies. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a pitcher from 1981 through 1995, most notably ...
,
Danny Jackson
Danny Lynn Jackson (born January 5, 1962) is an American former professional baseball pitcher who played 15 seasons in Major League Baseball from 1983 to 1997. He played for the Kansas City Royals, Cincinnati Reds, Chicago Cubs, Pittsburgh Pi ...
,
Charlie Leibrandt
Charles Louis Leibrandt, Jr. (; born October 4, 1956) is a former Major League Baseball pitcher who played from 1979 to 1993 for the Cincinnati Reds, Kansas City Royals, Atlanta Braves, and Texas Rangers. Leibrandt was a productive pitcher thr ...
, and Bret Saberhagen. The rotation posted a combined ERA below 3.00 through April and a combined 3.47 ERA by the end of the regular season, the sixth-best in the majors. Gubicza posted similar statistics to his previous season: a 4.06 ERA through innings worked. His win-loss record improved to 14–10 as the Royals were able to provide him with more run support at an average of 4.70 runs per start. Gubicza made his only career postseason appearances during the
1985 American League Championship Series
The 1985 American League Championship Series was played between the Kansas City Royals and the Toronto Blue Jays from October 8 to 16. Major League Baseball decided to extend the Championship Series in both leagues from its best-of-five (1969 ...
against the
Toronto Blue Jays
The Toronto Blue Jays are a Canadian professional baseball team based in Toronto. The Blue Jays compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. Since 1989, the team has played its home games ...
. In game one of the series, Gubicza entered the game as a
relief pitcher
In baseball and softball, a relief pitcher or reliever is a pitcher who enters the game after the starting pitcher is removed because of fatigue, ineffectiveness, injury, or ejection, or for other strategic reasons, such as inclement weat ...
in the fifth inning following a two-inning start by Leibrandt that resulted in five runs being surrendered. Gubicza worked three innings in relief, giving up no hits or runs while striking out two and
walking
Walking (also known as ambulation) is one of the main gaits of terrestrial locomotion among legged animals. Walking is typically slower than running and other gaits. Walking is defined by an ' inverted pendulum' gait in which the body vaults ...
one. In game six of the series, Gubicza was assigned his first postseason start while the Royals were down 3-2 and attempting a return from a 3–1 deficit. He lasted innings, giving up three runs while accruing two strikeouts and walking three batters. The Royals won the game 5–3, setting them up for a winner-take-all matchup the following night that they would go on to win. While the Royals advanced to the
1985 World Series
The 1985 World Series was the championship series of Major League Baseball's (MLB) 1985 season. The 82nd edition of the World Series, it was a best-of-seven playoff played between the American League (AL) champion Kansas City Royals and the N ...
, Gubicza did not pitch as the team elected for a four-man rotation. Following the 1985 season, the Royals considered trading Gubicza to the
San Francisco Giants
The San Francisco Giants are an American professional baseball team based in San Francisco, California. The Giants compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. Founded in 1883 as the New Y ...
for Chili Davis in order to bolster the team's offense. Kansas City's front office ultimately decided against it because San Francisco also wanted Darryl Motley and prospect Van Snider, a price that was seen as too high.
In 1986, Gubicza was a member of a revised Royals rotation as former starter Bud Black was moved to the bullpen. Gubicza posted a 3.64 ERA across innings with a 12–6 record, finishing second behind Danny Jackson for the team lead in ERA. Gubicza pitched two shutouts in 1986, first against the
Cleveland Indians
The Cleveland Guardians are an American professional baseball team based in Cleveland. The Guardians compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. Since , they have played at Progressive Fi ...
on May 14 and later against the
New York Yankees
The New York Yankees are an American professional baseball team based in the New York City borough of the Bronx. The Yankees compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. They are one of ...
on August 17. Following the 1986 season, the Royals again considered trading Gubicza for Chili Davis. Gubicza was also named in talks for
Seattle Mariners
The Seattle Mariners are an American professional baseball team based in Seattle. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division. The team joined the American League as an expansion team ...
Danny Tartabull
Danilo Tartabull Mora (born October 30, 1962) is a Cuban– Puerto Rican former professional baseball right fielder and designated hitter. He played 14 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Seattle Mariners (1984–1986), Kansas City R ...
, but he was not traded.
1987–1989: All-Star selections
In 1987, Gubicza made a jump in his innings pitched, working innings. He posted a 3.98 ERA and a 13–18 record and led the Royals with 166 strikeouts. He struggled at the start of the season and moved to a career 0–7 record in the month of April. Gubicza threw ten complete games and two shutouts, first on June 23 at Oakland and later on September 23 at
Seattle
Seattle ( ) is a seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the seat of King County, Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in both the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest regio ...
.
In 35 starts in 1988, Gubicza set career bests in wins (20), shutouts (4), innings pitched (), strikeouts (183), and ERA (2.70); he also threw eight complete games and had an AL-best 0.4 home runs per nine innings (HR/9). He threw a shutout against the eventual AL pennant winners, the Oakland Athletics, on September 16. Gubicza finished third in voting for the 1988
American League
The American League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the American League (AL), is one of two leagues that make up Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada. It developed from the Western League, a minor league ...
Frank Viola
Frank John Viola Jr. (born April 19, 1960) is an American former starting pitcher in Major League Baseball who played for the Minnesota Twins (1982–1989), New York Mets (1989–1991), Boston Red Sox (1992–1994), Cincinnati Reds (1995), and To ...
and
Dennis Eckersley
Dennis Lee Eckersley (born October 3, 1954), nicknamed "Eck", is an American professional baseball pitcher and former color commentator. Between 1975 and 1998, he pitched in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Cleveland Indians, Boston Red Sox, ...
. He was selected to his first career
All-Star Game
An all-star game is an exhibition game that purports to showcase the best players (the "stars") of a sports league. The exhibition is between two teams organized solely for the event, usually representing the league's teams based on region or d ...
.
Gubicza followed up his career-best season with another All-Star season in 1989. He posted a 15–11 record in 255 innings with a 3.04 ERA and a league-leading 36 starts. He threw a shutout against the
New York Yankees
The New York Yankees are an American professional baseball team based in the New York City borough of the Bronx. The Yankees compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. They are one of ...
on June 2.
1990–1996: Injury troubles
Through 16 starts in 1990, Gubicza had a 4–7 record across 94 innings with a 4.50 ERA and 71 strikeouts. In July, Gubicza and a team doctor decided that
arthroscopic surgery
Arthroscopy (also called arthroscopic or keyhole surgery) is a minimally invasive surgical procedure on a joint in which an examination and sometimes treatment of damage is performed using an arthroscope, an endoscope that is inserted into the ...
was necessary for his injured right arm, effectively ending his season because the recovery timeframe was four to six months. The pain in his right arm began with a strain in his
rotator cuff
The rotator cuff is a group of muscles and their tendons that act to stabilize the human shoulder and allow for its extensive range of motion. Of the seven scapulohumeral muscles, four make up the rotator cuff. The four muscles are the supraspi ...
at the end of the 1989 season. The team originally thought his arm had healed over the offseason, so he pitched with the lingering injury from April to late June 1990. Gubicza underwent the arm surgery, the first of his career, on August 2.
Gubicza was not ready to return to the mound until May 14, 1991, when he made his season debut in Toronto. In his first game since the surgery, he went five innings and surrendered three runs with eight strikeouts and one walk. Gubicza struggled throughout the 1991 season, including a June 26 game against the California Angels where he surrendered six runs and only lasted of an inning. Through his first 10 games, Gubicza had a 5.98 ERA and a 4–5 record. By the end of the season, Gubicza accrued a 9–12 record across 133 innings with a 5.68 ERA and 89 strikeouts.
In 1992, Gubicza posted an improved 3.72 ERA across innings through July. On July 10, Gubicza left a game against the Milwaukee Brewers after one inning because of stiffness in his right forearm. The Royals did not initially consider the discomfort to be a serious issue, but he was ultimately placed on the disabled list on July 15 because an examination found he had an inflamed
synovial bursa Synovial () may refer to:
* Synovial fluid
* Synovial joint
* Synovial membrane
The synovial membrane (also known as the synovial stratum, synovium or stratum synoviale) is a specialized connective tissue that lines the inner surface of capsule ...
. Gubicza began a 40-pitch rehab program on July 22, but he failed to complete it as the soreness in his arm lingered. He suffered another setback in his recovery in August, and speculation began to mount that his injury would be season-ending. Dr. Lewis Yocum examined Gubicza's arm on August 24 and found that his bursa had healed but he still had weakness in his rotator cuff, keeping him off the mound for another month, therefore ending his season.
In 1993, Gubicza started in six of the first seven turns of the rotation but was moved to the bullpen after struggling, including a -inning, 7-run start against the
Boston Red Sox
The Boston Red Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Boston. The Red Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. Founded in as one of the American League's eigh ...
on April 8. Through his first seven appearances, he had a 6.55 ERA and an 0–4 record. During his time as a reliever, Gubicza lowered his season ERA to 4.66 while collecting two saves and eight holds across 43 appearances.
In 1994, Gubicza returned to the starting rotation. In the strike-shortened season, he posted a 7–9 record across 130 innings with a 4.50 ERA and 59 strikeouts.
In 1995, Gubicza's numbers improved. In innings pitched, he put up a 12–14 record with a 3.75 ERA and 81 strikeouts. He led the major leagues in games started with 33.
The 1996 season was Gubicza's final year with the Royals. Through July, Gubicza had pitched innings with a 4–12 record, 5.13 ERA, and 55 strikeouts. On July 5, in a start against the Minnesota Twins at the Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome, Gubicza had to leave the game in the second inning after a batted ball hit by
Paul Molitor
Paul Leo Molitor (born August 22, 1956), nicknamed "Molly" and "the Ignitor", is an American former Major League Baseball (MLB) player and former manager of the Minnesota Twins, who is in the Baseball Hall of Fame. During his 21-year baseball car ...
broke his
tibia
The tibia (; ), also known as the shinbone or shankbone, is the larger, stronger, and anterior (frontal) of the two bones in the leg below the knee in vertebrates (the other being the fibula, behind and to the outside of the tibia); it connects ...
. The Twins team doctor fitted Gubicza with a cast that day, signaling that he would be out for at least eight weeks. Gubicza did not pitch again that season. In his 13 seasons with Kansas City, he finished with a 132–135 record, a 3.91 ERA, 327 games started, 42 complete games, 16 shutouts, innings pitched, 1366 strikeouts, a 110 ERA+, a 3.67 FIP, and 9.6 SO/9.
Anaheim Angels
On October 28, 1996, the Royals traded Gubicza and prospect Mike Bovee to the
Anaheim Angels
The Los Angeles Angels are an American professional baseball team based in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. The Angels compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division. Since 1966, the team h ...
in exchange for designated hitter Chili Davis, the same player who had been brought up in trade talks involving Gubicza in 1985 and 1986. The Angels made the trade to open the designated hitter spot for one of the team's four outfielders — Tim Salmon,
Garret Anderson
Garret Joseph Anderson (born June 30, 1972) is an American former professional baseball left fielder. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the California / Anaheim Angels / Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, Atlanta Braves, and Los Angeles D ...
,
Jim Edmonds
James Patrick Edmonds (born June 27, 1970) is an American former professional baseball center fielder and a broadcaster for Bally Sports Midwest. He played for the California/Anaheim Angels, St. Louis Cardinals, San Diego Padres, Chicago Cubs, ...
, and
Darin Erstad
Darin Charles Erstad (; born June 4, 1974) is an American former professional baseball player and the former head coach of the University of Nebraska Cornhuskers Nebraska Cornhuskers baseball, baseball team. Erstad spent most of his playing caree ...
. Gubicza was brought on to an Angels pitching staff that had combined for a 5.29 ERA in the previous season, the second-worst in the league.
Gubicza only pitched innings across two starts that for the Angels, and he gave up 13 earned runs for an ERA of 25.07. In his first start since breaking his leg nine months earlier, he gave up only a solo home run through the first three innings against the
Cleveland Indians
The Cleveland Guardians are an American professional baseball team based in Cleveland. The Guardians compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. Since , they have played at Progressive Fi ...
, but he gave up seven runs in the fourth inning as the Indians batted around. On April 11, again pitching against the Indians, Gubicza gave up six runs in the second inning. Following his second start, Gubicza was sent back to Anaheim to receive an
MRI
Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is a medical imaging technique used in radiology to form pictures of the anatomy and the physiological processes of the body. MRI scanners use strong magnetic fields, magnetic field gradients, and radio waves ...
on his shoulder. The results were normal but he received a
cortisone
Cortisone is a pregnene (21-carbon) steroid hormone. It is a naturally-occurring corticosteroid metabolite that is also used as a pharmaceutical prodrug; it is not synthesized in the adrenal glands. Cortisol is converted by the action of the enz ...
injection and went on the disabled list. It was later revealed that Gubicza needed arthroscopic surgery for the second time in his career and he missed the remainder of the 1997 season as a result. He was not activated from the disabled list until October.
Following the 1997 season, the Angels re-signed Gubicza to a minor league contract but released him shortly thereafter. He signed a minor-league deal with the
Los Angeles Dodgers
The Los Angeles Dodgers are an American professional baseball team based in Los Angeles. The Dodgers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. Established in 1883 in the city of Brooklyn ...
in January 1998 but announced his retirement the following month, citing his injuries.
Pitching style
Gubicza's early pitching was heavily influenced by his father, who had more time to coach his son due to an injury that prematurely ended his minor league baseball career. By the time he was in high school, Gubicza had learned to pitch with the "drop-and-drive" form, a pitching mechanic where the pitcher bends their non-dominant leg to add momentum to their throw. His usage of the mechanic was specifically based on
Tom Seaver
George Thomas Seaver (November 17, 1944 – August 31, 2020), nicknamed "Tom Terrific" and "the Franchise", was an American professional baseball pitcher who played 20 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB). He played for the New York Mets, Cinc ...
, a famous user of the drop-and-drive. This pitching mechanic helped Gubicza to reach on his
fastball
The fastball is the most common type of pitch thrown by pitchers in baseball and softball. " Power pitchers," such as former American major leaguers Nolan Ryan and Roger Clemens, rely on speed to prevent the ball from being hit, and have thr ...
and on his curveball in high school.
While in the Royals minor league system, pitching instructor Gary Blaylock introduced the
slider
Slider or Sliders may refer to:
Arts
* K.K. Slider, a fictional character within the ''Animal Crossing'' franchise
* '' The Slider'', a 1972 album by T. Rex
* ''Sliders'' (TV series), an American science fiction and fantasy television series
* ...
and sinker pitches into Gubicza's repertoire. Despite having a varied pitch mix, he was best known for his hard-thrown fastballs. In 1988, with the help of pitching coach Frank Funk, Gubicza loosened up his delivery, a change that delivered improved results. Following his arthroscopic surgery in 1990, Gubicza decreased the usage of his fastball and favored breaking balls in order to manage pain in his throwing arm.
Broadcasting career
In 2000, Gubicza took a job as an analyst for the
Fox Sports Net
Fox Sports Networks (FSN), formerly known as Fox Sports Net, was the collective name for a group of regional sports channels in the United States. Formed in 1996 by News Corporation, the networks were acquired by The Walt Disney Company on Mar ...
shows titled ''
National Sports Report
The ''National Sports Report'' is a sportscast that aired on United States television channel Fox Sports Net.
Brief history
The program premiered on November 1, 1996, when FSN was launched, as ''Fox Sports News''. The show, which succeeded the ...
'' and ''Baseball Today''. He was also offered a job to be on
ESPN
ESPN (originally an initialism for Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by ESPN Inc., owned jointly by The Walt Disney Company (80%) and Hearst Communications (20%). Th ...
's ''
Baseball Tonight
''Baseball Tonight'' (stylized as ''Baseball Tonight presented by Chevrolet'' for sponsorship reasons) is an American television program that airs on ESPN. The show, which covers the day's Major League Baseball action, has been on the air since ...
'', but declined because the show's studio in
Bristol, Connecticut
Bristol is a suburban city located in Hartford County, Connecticut, United States, southwest-west of Hartford. The city is also 120 miles southwest from Boston, and approximately 100 miles northeast of New York City. As of the 2020 census, th ...
, was too far from home.
Gubicza has worked for
Bally Sports West
Bally Sports West is an American regional sports network owned by Diamond Sports Group, a joint venture between Sinclair Broadcast Group and Entertainment Studios, and operated as part of Bally Sports, along with its sister network Bally Spor ...
, formerly known as Fox Sports West, since the mid-2000s. He has primarily served as a color commentator for Angels broadcasts, occasionally providing pre-game and post-game analysis on ''Angels Live'' and formerly for ''Dodgers Live''. In 2007, he was paired with José Mota on 50 Angels telecasts on Fox Sports West/Prime Ticket and
KCOP
KCOP-TV (channel 13) is a television station in Los Angeles, California, United States, serving as the West Coast flagship of MyNetworkTV. It is owned and operated by Fox Television Stations alongside Fox outlet KTTV (channel 11). Both station ...
. He also co-hosted ''Angels in the Infield'' with Bill Macdonald. The Angels announced in 2008 that he would work roughly 75 games on television during that season. Gubizca was slated to work with
Rory Markas
Rory Markas (December 20, 1955 – January 4, 2010) was an American sportscaster best known as the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim's play-by-play broadcaster for eight seasons and as the radio voice of the University of Southern California men's ba ...
on Angels broadcasts in 2010 before Markas's sudden death on January 4, 2010. On March 3, 2010, Victor Rojas was named as Markas's replacement, a broadcast partner Gubicza remained with until 2020. In 2021, Gubicza became a permanent fixture of an otherwise rotating broadcast booth that featured
Matt Vasgersian
Matt Vasgersian ( '; born 1967) is an American sportscaster and television host. Vasgersian is a play-by-play announcer for the Los Angeles Angels, as well as a studio host for MLB Network and FOX Sports. In the past, he has served as an an ...
as the primary play-by-play announcer with
Daron Sutton
Daron Sutton (born October 21, 1969) is an American baseball broadcaster who has served as a television host or play-by-play announcer for five different Major League Baseball organizations, the Atlanta Braves, Milwaukee Brewers, Arizona Diamon ...
(and later
Rich Waltz
Rich Waltz (born October 22, 1962) is an American television play-by-play commentator currently calling college football and basketball for CBS Sports and CBS Sports Network. Waltz also calls MLB for MLB Network's ''Showcase'' telecasts. In 202 ...
) filling in when Vasgersian had to call games for ESPN or
MLB Network
The MLB Network is an American television sports channel dedicated to baseball. It is primarily owned by Major League Baseball, with Warner Bros. Discovery through its sports unit, Comcast's NBC Sports Group, Charter Communications, and Cox C ...
. In 2022, Vasgersian remained on the network's primary broadcast team alongside Gubicza and became more available due to his departure from ESPN.
Gubicza hosts a weekly segment called "Gubie Tuesdays" that is shown during games between a commercial break and the return to action on the field. In the segment, Gubicza interviews various Angels players with open-ended questions about baseball or other lighthearted subjects.
Legacy
Gubicza became known as a fastball pitcher in part due to his 6 ft 6 in, 215 lb (1.98 m, 97 kg) frame that helped him to develop a velocity above as early as high school. Gubicza was also noted for his work ethic on the mound, with Royals general manager
John Schuerholz
John Boland Schuerholz Jr. (; born October 1, 1940) is an American baseball front office executive. He was the general manager of Major League Baseball's Atlanta Braves from 1990 to 2007, and then served as the Braves president for a decade from 2 ...
describing him as having a "bulldog mentality." At the time of his retirement, Gubicza had the most strikeouts in Royals history with 1,366, since surpassed by
Kevin Appier
Robert Kevin Appier (; born December 6, 1967) is an American former professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball as a right-handed pitcher for the Kansas City Royals, Oakland Athletics, New York Mets, and Anaheim Angels. Appi ...
with 1,458. He also finished his Royals tenure third all-time in wins with 132 and second in pitching
wins above replacement
Wins Above Replacement or Wins Above Replacement Player, commonly abbreviated to WAR or WARP, is a non-standardized sabermetric baseball statistic developed to sum up "a player's total contributions to his team". A player's WAR value is claimed to ...
with 38.0.
On July 21, 2006, Gubicza was inducted into the Royals Hall of Fame in a pregame ceremony at
Kauffman Stadium
Kauffman Stadium (), often called "The K", is a baseball stadium located in Kansas City, Missouri. It is home to the Kansas City Royals of Major League Baseball (MLB). It is part of the Truman Sports Complex together with the adjacent Arrowhead ...
. Gubicza called his induction a "tremendous honor" and former teammates John Wathan and Jeff Montgomery spoke about his career at the ceremony.
Gubicza was inducted into the
Missouri Sports Hall of Fame
The Missouri Sports Hall of Fame is located in Springfield, Missouri, United States. Founded in 1994 by Springfield businessman John Q. Hammons, the Hall of Fame is housed in a two-story, 32,000-square-foot building. On display are more than 4, ...
on January 31, 2010. He was inducted into the
National Polish-American Sports Hall of Fame
The National Polish-American Sports Hall of Fame and Museum was founded in 1973. The mission of the National Polish-American Sports Hall of Fame is to recognize and preserve outstanding achievement by individuals of Polish heritage in the field o ...
on June 16, 2022.
Personal life
Gubicza met his wife, Lisa, at the wedding of Royals teammate Bret Saberhagen. While playing for the Royals, he resided for many years in the Northridge neighborhood of
Los Angeles
Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, largest city in the U.S. state, state of California and the List of United States cities by population, sec ...
.
Following his playing career, the Royals offered Gubicza a job as a roving minor-league pitching instructor, but he declined. He spent several years coaching
Little League
Little League Baseball and Softball (officially, Little League Baseball Inc) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organizationSan Fernando Valley area. In August 2002, Gubicza was named the head baseball coach at Chaminade High School in West Hills, California, where he remained until 2007. Gubicza coached eventual MLB outfielder
Kevin Pillar
Kevin Andrew Pillar () (born January 4, 1989) is an American professional baseball outfielder who is a free agent. He has played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Toronto Blue Jays, San Francisco Giants, Boston Red Sox, Colorado Rockies, N ...
. Gubicza's son, Chad, attended Chaminade. Chaminade would sometimes play nearby Calabasas High School, a team that was coached by Gubicza's former Kansas City teammate Bret Saberhagen.
Because of his roots in Philadelphia, Gubicza is a fan of the various sports teams of the city. He has attended
Philadelphia Eagles
The Philadelphia Eagles are a professional American football team based in Philadelphia. The Eagles compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East division. The team play ...
games with Angels outfielder Mike Trout, a native of