chicot60
11-20-2012, 03:13 PM
Blue Jays hire John Gibbons as manager
Brendan Kennedy
Blue Jays’ GM Alex Anthopoulos said he wanted to find a manager who was the right fit for the team, the organization and the city.
To achieve that, he reached back into the organization’s recent past to hire John Gibbons to lead the revamped Jays’ lineup in 2013.
Gibbons’ hiring, which was first reported by Toronto Sun columnist Bob Elliott, is expected to be officially announced by the club at a news conference Tuesday morning at 9:30 a.m.
Gibbons, 50, was Toronto’s manager over five seasons from 2004 to 2008, posting an even 305-305 mark with the club.
After he was fired by then general manager J.P. Ricciardi in 2008, he spent three seasons as the bench coach of the Kansas City Royals. Last year he managed the San Diego Padres’ Double-A affiliate in San Antonio, posting a 60-80 record.
Gibbons had a 305-305 mark over his five seasons in Toronto. Anthopoulos was assistant GM under Ricciardi during Gibbons first stint as manager.
Gibbons was also at the helm during the Jays’ last busiest offseason, in 2006, when Ricciardi signed a slew of marquee free agents, including A.J. Burnett, B.J. Ryan and Frank Thomas, while trading for all-star Troy Glaus.
The Jays underachieved with their new-look lineup, posting a 83-79 record while finishing in third place in the AL East.
Gibbons’ best season was the previous year, when they won 87 games to finish second behind the New York Yankees, the only time the Jays have finished better than third since their World Series years.
“We loved playing for him,” former Jays’ infielder John McDonald told Sportsnet Fan590 radio Tuesday morning. “He was always fair.”
McDonald played under Gibbons in 2006, a season marked by controversial clashes between the manager and some of his players, including Shea Hillenbrand and Ted Lilly
“I wouldn’t call it controversy,” McDonald said. “I thought it was a manager taking control. He wasn’t going to take crap from anybody, whether it be on the field or in the clubhouse.”
McDonald said Gibbons always held players accountable.
“He cared so much to make sure everybody was on the same page going forward.”
Today’s 9:30 a.m. press conference with Anthopoulos was initially called to officially announce the Jays’ 12-player blockbuster trade with the Miami Marlins — which was approved Monday by MLB commissioner Bud Selig — and last week’s signing of left-fielder Melky Cabrera to a two-year $16 million deal.
Now there will be even more to talk about.
Gibson was always more comfortable with the guys who did the grunt work than the brass or the star players, according to the Toronto Star’s Richard Griffin.
“I’m not obsessed with getting another (managerial) job,” Gibbons told the Star back in 2009 when he was with the Kansas City Royals organization.
“If something came along, I’d like to give it a shot. If I don’t, I had my opportunity and how many guys get that? You hope your reputation’s good, but these jobs are tough to come by. I’ll see what’s open. I may throw my hat in there, but it’s not something where I can’t wait to get right back into it. I don’t know if it was necessarily like that before I got that job, either. If there’s a job that opens up close to home, now that might be ideal.”
Gibbons replaced Carlos Tosca in 2004. Coincidentally, when Gibbons was fired, he was replaced by Cito Gaston who himself was coming back for a second stint as Jays manager.
“These jobs are so hard to come by,” Gibbons said in that interview. “If I hadn’t been a coach in Toronto to begin with, who knows? I could have been still banging around in the minor leagues with somebody else. I look back with nothing but great memories.
“I was an unproven guy. I had never done it before. I’ve always felt if you perform and things happen the way they’re supposed to, you get rewarded.”
The hiring of Gibbons comes as a bit of a shocker since his name never surfaced in speculation over who would replace John Farrell after he left for his “dream job” in Boston.
Experienced candidates linked to the Jays in reports include Manny Acta, Mike Hargrove and Jim Tracy.
http://www.thestar.com/sports/baseball/mlb/article/1290231--blue-jays-hire-john-gibbons-as-manager-reports
Brendan Kennedy
Blue Jays’ GM Alex Anthopoulos said he wanted to find a manager who was the right fit for the team, the organization and the city.
To achieve that, he reached back into the organization’s recent past to hire John Gibbons to lead the revamped Jays’ lineup in 2013.
Gibbons’ hiring, which was first reported by Toronto Sun columnist Bob Elliott, is expected to be officially announced by the club at a news conference Tuesday morning at 9:30 a.m.
Gibbons, 50, was Toronto’s manager over five seasons from 2004 to 2008, posting an even 305-305 mark with the club.
After he was fired by then general manager J.P. Ricciardi in 2008, he spent three seasons as the bench coach of the Kansas City Royals. Last year he managed the San Diego Padres’ Double-A affiliate in San Antonio, posting a 60-80 record.
Gibbons had a 305-305 mark over his five seasons in Toronto. Anthopoulos was assistant GM under Ricciardi during Gibbons first stint as manager.
Gibbons was also at the helm during the Jays’ last busiest offseason, in 2006, when Ricciardi signed a slew of marquee free agents, including A.J. Burnett, B.J. Ryan and Frank Thomas, while trading for all-star Troy Glaus.
The Jays underachieved with their new-look lineup, posting a 83-79 record while finishing in third place in the AL East.
Gibbons’ best season was the previous year, when they won 87 games to finish second behind the New York Yankees, the only time the Jays have finished better than third since their World Series years.
“We loved playing for him,” former Jays’ infielder John McDonald told Sportsnet Fan590 radio Tuesday morning. “He was always fair.”
McDonald played under Gibbons in 2006, a season marked by controversial clashes between the manager and some of his players, including Shea Hillenbrand and Ted Lilly
“I wouldn’t call it controversy,” McDonald said. “I thought it was a manager taking control. He wasn’t going to take crap from anybody, whether it be on the field or in the clubhouse.”
McDonald said Gibbons always held players accountable.
“He cared so much to make sure everybody was on the same page going forward.”
Today’s 9:30 a.m. press conference with Anthopoulos was initially called to officially announce the Jays’ 12-player blockbuster trade with the Miami Marlins — which was approved Monday by MLB commissioner Bud Selig — and last week’s signing of left-fielder Melky Cabrera to a two-year $16 million deal.
Now there will be even more to talk about.
Gibson was always more comfortable with the guys who did the grunt work than the brass or the star players, according to the Toronto Star’s Richard Griffin.
“I’m not obsessed with getting another (managerial) job,” Gibbons told the Star back in 2009 when he was with the Kansas City Royals organization.
“If something came along, I’d like to give it a shot. If I don’t, I had my opportunity and how many guys get that? You hope your reputation’s good, but these jobs are tough to come by. I’ll see what’s open. I may throw my hat in there, but it’s not something where I can’t wait to get right back into it. I don’t know if it was necessarily like that before I got that job, either. If there’s a job that opens up close to home, now that might be ideal.”
Gibbons replaced Carlos Tosca in 2004. Coincidentally, when Gibbons was fired, he was replaced by Cito Gaston who himself was coming back for a second stint as Jays manager.
“These jobs are so hard to come by,” Gibbons said in that interview. “If I hadn’t been a coach in Toronto to begin with, who knows? I could have been still banging around in the minor leagues with somebody else. I look back with nothing but great memories.
“I was an unproven guy. I had never done it before. I’ve always felt if you perform and things happen the way they’re supposed to, you get rewarded.”
The hiring of Gibbons comes as a bit of a shocker since his name never surfaced in speculation over who would replace John Farrell after he left for his “dream job” in Boston.
Experienced candidates linked to the Jays in reports include Manny Acta, Mike Hargrove and Jim Tracy.
http://www.thestar.com/sports/baseball/mlb/article/1290231--blue-jays-hire-john-gibbons-as-manager-reports