Kirk Gibson happy to be back in Fox Sports Detroit booth – Detroit Free Press

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Last SlideNext Slide

Kirk Gibson wasn’t scared.

He never has been, from his days as a premier prep athlete at Waterford Kettering to his All-American days at Michigan State to his World Series-winning days with the Detroit Tigers and Los Angeles Dodgers, with whom he played the bulk of his 17-year major league career for.

And he certainly wouldn’t be scared by a doctor’s diagnosis in April that he had Parkinson’s disease, a neurological condition that affects motor skills and speech and now, the baseball legend and Tiger broadcaster’s day-to-day life.

“You just pay attention to what it is and how you deal with it,” Gibson said this afternoon after his first full broadcast on Fox Sports Detroit since taking a leave of absence after the diagnosis.

And he’s dealing with it well, he said, with a lot of speech and voice therapy, education on the disease and its symptoms and, most importantly, baseball.

He returned to the broadcast booth with three innings Wednesday and a complete game today, but has been back to Comerica Park a number of times recently for the best therapy of all.

“It’s the people,” he said. “Being around the people, the fans, they’re incredible and highly supportive of me. The Tigers have been great, the people, the fans, Fox, my family and I’ve had so many people reach out to me that it really makes me feel good. I’m eternally grateful.”

Looking back, Gibson, 58, could see the signs of Parkinson’s for some time, but didn’t quite know what was wrong until the Opening Day broadcast with Mario Impemba and Rod Allen.

“After Opening Day, I knew something was wrong,” he said. “I thought a lot of it had to do because I had neck surgery and shoulder surgery – a lot of neurological things – so after that day, just the way that I felt, I knew I needed to go see a doctor, which I did, and they diagnosed it pretty quickly.”

Gibson didn’t go into detail with how his life has changed in recent months, but said, “There’s a new normal for me, absolutely.”

He sent out a statement through Fox Sports Detroit after the diagnosis and, “The people that reached out to me were incredible, highly motivational and I think I probably have a place in heaven, a voice to try to help find a cure,” he said.

At this time, there is no cure for Parkinson’s disease.

But Gibson, with the support of his wife, JoAnn and their four children – Cam Gibson was recently drafted in the fourth round by the Tigers – is committed to his therapy and dealing with the symptoms and trying to stop the progression of the disease.

“I’m tired,” he admitted after the game. “It’s a process, it’s something you gotta build up to and learn how to deal with it.”

He doesn’t know how many games he will do the remainder of the season, but expects to be back in the booth later this month. The Tigers lost 8-4 today.

“It was fine,” Gibson said of his first game back. “It’s different, but I’m just interested in the Tigers winning, so I’m disappointed in that.”

But one thing he hasn’t been disappointed in is his mindset in attacking the disease.

“I’m not giving in,” he said.

Contact Anthony Fenech: afenech@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @anthonyfenech.

DETROIT FREE PRESS

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