Only this time, Gibby wasn\u2019t yelling at me. This time, he was cheering for me.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m fighting it, you gotta fight it! You gotta take it head-on, because this s\u2014 ain\u2019t going away!\u201d <\/p>\n
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Kirk Gibson plays ping pong at the Kirk Gibson Center for Parkinson\u2019s Wellness in Farmington Hills, Mich., on Sept. 26.<\/p>\n
(Nic Antaya\/Nic Antaya \/ For the Times)<\/p>\n
Thirty-five years after we sparred in the Dodger clubhouse, Gibson and I have found ourselves on the same team.<\/p>\n
We both have Parkinson\u2019s Disease<\/a>, and he spent much of a recent 45-minute phone call pushing me to battle the incurable illness the way he once battled a certain backdoor slider.<\/p>\n \u201cIs it fun being depressed? You cannot succumb!\u201d<\/p>\n It\u2019s that time of year when folks talk about arguably the greatest moment in Dodger history<\/a>, Gibson\u2019s one-legged, two-run homer against future Hall of Famer Dennis Eckersley<\/a> to win the World Series opener against the Oakland Athletics and spark the team to a 1988 championship.<\/p>\n Kirk Gibson\u2019s game-winning home run from Game 1 of the 1988 World Series.<\/p>\n For many, an indelible memory. But in many ways, he\u2019s no longer the same Kirk Gibson.<\/p>\n In 2015, he was diagnosed with Parkinson\u2019s, a progressive neurological disorder that affects movement.<\/p>\n Today, his home-run gait around the bases would be wobbly, and his right fist pumps would be shaky, and afterward he might need help in the locker room buttoning his shirt.<\/p>\n But one thing that has remained powerful is his fire.<\/p>\n \u201cYou battle through it!\u201d<\/p>\n He is battling it such that this fall, he will hit another monumental home run, this one far more impactful than any previous October blast.<\/p>\n On Oct. 6, in a gleaming building located in the Detroit suburb of Farmington Hills, Gibson will formally open the Kirk Gibson Center for Parkinson\u2019s Wellness<\/a>.<\/p>\n For those like me, heaven.<\/p>\n There are few places in the country quite like it \u2014 this giant, 30,000-square feet warehouse dedicated to Parkinson\u2019s patients, complete with two gyms, 11 spaces for movement classes, a track, a social space and even quiet rooms for those experiencing the off times that occur during those dreaded gaps in the daily medication.<\/p>\n Catherine Yu leads a tai chi class at the Kirk Gibson Center for Parkinson\u2019s Wellness in Farmington Hills, Mich.<\/p>\n (Nic Antaya\/Nic Antaya \/ For the Times)<\/p>\n And it\u2019s all free. For everyone. All the time.<\/p>\n \u201cIt was fun to hit the home run, but this involves a lot more people,\u201d Gibson said. \u201cWe\u2019re trying to create a culture where people with Parkinson\u2019s can thrive. Instead of sitting home being depressed, you come out and occupy your mind and participate in classes and deal with your life.\u201d<\/p>\n Gibson is so ingrained in his created community that he has an office in the middle of the building and shows up nearly every day to coach a most unlikely looking squad.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019re not a good-looking group, but we\u2019re a great group,\u201d he said. \u201cWe\u2019re a bunch of people moving around, shaking, some have walkers, it\u2019s nothing to be ashamed of. We\u2019re a beautiful bunch.\u201d<\/p>\n When Gibson gives speeches, he asks the audience to identify their own personal World Series. Gibson was a Fall Classic hero in 1984 and 1988, but it\u2019s clear, his World Series is here, his World Series is now, and as he strongly encouraged me in my situation, you could almost hear the drumbeat of October.<\/p>\n \u201cFight it! Take it head on!\u201d<\/p>\n The night Kirk Gibson made Dodger history, he did so alone. Because he was certain leg injuries would prevent him from playing in the 1988 World Series opener, he sent his family home before the game. When he hit his historic blast, he was unable to share it with loved ones, so it didn\u2019t seem real.<\/p>\n Dodgers star Kirk Gibson raises his arm in celebration as he rounds the bases after hitting a two\u2013run game-winning homer in the bottom of the ninth inning to beat the Oakland Athletics 5\u20134 in the first game of the World Series at Dodger Stadium on Oct. 15, 1988.<\/p>\n (AP)<\/p>\n \u201cAll these years, I didn\u2019t really know what happened,\u201d he said. \u201cI never really felt it.\u201d<\/p>\n That all changed last October when Freddie Freeman matched Gibson\u2019s dramatics<\/a> with a Game 1 grand slam to beat the New York Yankees.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/img.youtube.com\/vi\/0toCMwEBwLo\/hqdefault.jpg\")
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