If you ever get the chance to walk into Kirk Gibson's home, you won't see a case full of awards won over his long and illustrious career.
↵Gibby's 2011 MLB National League Manager of the Year plague presented before Friday's season opener is destined for storage and eventually will be sold to help fund his foundation just like his 1988 NL MVP Award.
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Kirk Gibson during opening day ceremonies at Chase Field.Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-US PRESSWIRE
"I'm not a big displayer," Gibson said, "I'm not going to have my kids arguing over my stuff."
↵Gibby explained that he has a "screwed up mechanism" in his mind that prevents him from enjoying individual accolades.
↵"Those are team awards. I guess I'm pretty humble and shy about receiving individual awards to be honest with you...It's not uncomfortable, but I don't enjoy it. It's not my make up. If the whole team could have got an award, like a World Series trophy and some rings, that would have been fun, I would enjoy that."
↵Gibby quoted his former manager Sparky Anderson, "The players make the manager, it's never the other way around."
↵And while that might be true, there's also no denying that Gibson's defining personality traits are readily apparent and reflected his Diamondbacks team. Chief among them, humility and confidence with plenty of grit and determination.
↵If the 2012 Arizona Diamondbacks can continue to play in the image of their manager, they have a real chance of adding "Champion" to that list.
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