John Gibbons

John Gibbons
Catcher, Manager
Born: June 8 1962 (1962-06-08) (age 45)
Batted: Right	Threw: Right
MLB debut
April 11, 1984 for the New York Mets
Final game
October 4, 1986 for the New York Mets
Career statistics
Batting Average	.220
Hits	11
RBI	2
Teams
As Player New York Mets (1984, 1986) As Manager Toronto Blue Jays (2004-current)
Career highlights and awards
1st round pick in the 1980 amateur draft

John Michael Gibbons, (born June 8, 1962, in Great Falls, Montana), is the current manager of the Toronto Blue Jays in Major League Baseball. He is often referred to as "Gibby" by his players and other baseball cohorts.^[1]

Playing career

After being selected by the New York Mets with the 24th pick of the 1980 amateur draft, Gibbons had a very brief 18-game major league playing career as a catcher with the Mets in 1984 and 1986. He was projected to be the Mets' catcher of the future but he batted only .220, with one home run and 2 RBIs (but 16 strikeouts) in 50 at-bats. Injuries also took a toll on him so he retired as a player in 1990.

Bullpen catcher & coach

Hired by the Blue Jays General Manager J.P. Ricciardi in 2002 as a bullpen catcher, Gibbons worked his way up to first base coach in June 2002. Ricciardi was his former roommate in the minor leagues.

Managerial career

After Blue Jays GM J.P. Ricciardi fired manager Carlos Tosca in 2004, he once again decided to hire a minor league manager with no Major League experience in John Gibbons. Blue Jays went 20-30 with Gibbons as manager. During the remainder of the season, it was not unusual to see the Blue Jays field as many as six rookies per game. At the end of the 2004 regular season, Gibbons was given a 1-year contract as the manager for the 2005 season. This contract was extended for three seasons just a week into the 2005 season. Gibbons went on to lead the Jays to an 80-82 record in his first full season as a big league manager. Expectations were higher in 2006, after the Blue Jays acquired A.J. Burnett, Troy Glaus, Lyle Overbay, BJ Ryan, and Bengie Molina. Toronto ended the season in second place in the American League East division with an 87-75 record, one game ahead of the Boston Red Sox. It marked the first time the Jays had finished higher than third since 1993, when they won their second of two consecutive World Series titles. Gibbons now holds a 231-232 record as a major league manager.

Controversy with his players

On May 28, 2005, Gibbons chastised former Toronto starter Dave Bush in the dugout after the right-hander showed his displeasure on the mound about being removed from a game. The next day Bush was sent to the minor leagues. [1]. After the season, Bush was traded to the Brewers, where the former 2nd round draft pick became one of their top 3 starting pitchers and doubled the number of wins he had achieved in either season as a Blue Jay. [2] Gibbons was again involved in controversy in July 2006, after his feud with Shea Hillenbrand came to a head. After the former Blue Jays infielder and designated hitter wrote negative comments about the team on a display board in the Blue Jays clubhouse, Gibbons confronted him in a closed team meeting and allegedly challenged him to a fight. Hillenbrand, who has a history of clashing with officials from several teams, was upset about his lack of playing time and that no one in the Blue Jays front office had made an attempt to congratulate him on recently adopting a child. Gibbons told the Blue Jays that if Hillenbrand was not cut or traded from the team, Gibbons would resign. Three days later the Blue Jays traded Hillenbrand, who was hitting .301 at the time, to the Giants.[3] Gibbons was involved in more controversy on August 21, 2006, when he got into a confrontation with another of his players -- Blue Jays pitcher Ted Lilly -- after Gibbons walked to the mound to remove Lilly in the third inning of Toronto's game against Oakland. Visibly frustrated at his own performance (having given up 7 runs in that inning to erase an 8-0 lead), Lilly initially refused to surrender the ball to Gibbons. He ultimately left the mound and headed for the clubhouse. [4]When Gibbons returned to the dugout, he followed Lilly into the clubhouse tunnel where, according to eyewitnesses, Gibbons confronted the pitcher about his insubordination. The two exchanged shoves, and a number of players and Blue Jays staff rushed in from the dugout to break it up.[5] Following the confrontation, both men considered the matter resolved, and there were no apparent tensions thereafter.

Criticism

Some Blue Jays fans and baseball writers have criticized Gibbons, believe he should be fired, and that his hiring by J.P. Ricciardi was a mistake from the beginning. Gibbons had no major-league experience when he took over in 2004 and the team has not improved since his arrival. In 2006, the team finished second in the AL East, marking the first time they finished above third in 14 years. However, in 2007 the team did not live up to expectations and returned to a distant third, leading to criticism from fans and the media of the entire management team. Others argue that with an offense that greatly underachieved (at least partly due to injuries) there was little that could have been done and nothing any manager could have done that would have resulted in a good season. Gibbons' actions such as the Ted Lilly alleged fight and confrontation with Shea Hillenbrand (who is known for clashing with management) have been classified by many observers as a lack of class and civility from the manager.

Managerial records

See also

• List of Major League Baseball managers in 2006
• List of Major League Baseball managers in 2007
• List of Major League Baseball managers in 2008

References

External links

• Baseball-Reference.com - career statistics and managing record
• Toronto Blue Jays page