With an NLCS ring, Orioles' Kyle Gibson earns a concrete reminder of all the relationships …

PHILADELPHIA — Inside the spring training clubhouse in Clearwater, Florida, Kyle Gibson suddenly realized they were talking about him.The veteran starter, who in February 2022 entered his first spring training with the Phillies, wasn’t used to being the new guy. But after a midseason trade brought him from the Texas Rangers to Philadelphia, Gibson was one of the relative newcomers asked to stand and tell the clubhouse a fun fact about himself.He still remembers what he said.Gibson has scoliosis, and he told the assembled room full of Major League Baseball stars and up-and-comers alike a little-known fact about himself. At one point in fifth grade, he said, he wore a back brace, braces, headgear and glasses.“I said, ‘If I can make it to the big leagues, you guys can, too. Keep your head up,’” Gibson recalled.It’s that sort of honesty and disarming self-deprecating humor that made an immediate impression on so many within the Phillies organization, and it was especially apparent on Gibson’s return to Citizens Bank Park as a member of the Orioles on Monday.A steady stream of former teammates made their way to Gibson. He laughed with coaches, hugged stadium staff, and said hello to Kyle Schwarber’s wife
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