John Gibbons, Former Manager, Toronto Blue Jays

Date of Birth: 6/8/1962
Birthplace: Great Falls, Montana

John Gibbons, former manager of the Toronto Blue Jays, had a very short and limited career as a baseball catcher, playing in only 18 games for the New York Mets in 1984 and 1986. He did not return to major league baseball until 2002 when he was hired to be the first base coach for the Blue Jays. Two years later, he started his first stint as manager of the Toronto team. He lasted in that role until he was fired in June, 2008.

Under Gibbons' leadership, the Blue Jays had two winning seasons (2006, 2007) but they never finished higher than second place in the AL East division and they didn't make the playoffs. They had a fifth place finish in Gibbons' first and last years as manager and their best record was 87-75, with a .537 win percentage, in 2006, the year they finished in second place.

After leaving the Blue Jays, Gibbons became a bench coach for the Kansas City Royals and he held that position through the 2011 season. In 2012, he managed a minor league team for the San Diego Padres.

In November, 2012, Gibbons was hired for the second time to manage the Blue Jays. He led the team to a dismal fifth place finish in the American League East division in 2013, with a 74-88 win-loss record. Gibbons and the team fared much better in 2014, finishing in third place in the AL East division with an 83-79 record.

Gibbons led the Blue Jays to a first place finish in the AL East division in 2015. They had a 93-69 record. In the AL Division Series they defeated the Texas Rangers three games to two. They lost, however, the AL Championship Series to the Kansas City Royals four games to two.

In 2016, Gibbons again led the Blue Jays to the postseason. They finished the regular season with 89 wins to 73 losses, tied with the Baltimore Orioles for a Wild Card spot. They defeated the Orioles 5-2 in 11 innings and then went on to sweep the Texas Rangers in three games in the AL division series. They lost the AL Championship series to the Cleveland Indians three games to two.

The Blue Jays signed Gibbons to a contract extension on April 1, 2017. The new contract goes through the 2019 season with a club option for 2020.

The Blue Jays and Gibbons didn't have a good year in 2017. They finished fourth in the AL East division with 76 wins and 86 losses. Their 2018 season was about the same with 73 wins and 89 losses. On September 26, 2018, Gibbons and the Blue Jays announced that he wouldn't be returning as manager in 2019.

In his eleven years as a major league manager, Gibbons has a 793-789 win-loss record.

Sources for Information
Wikipedia - John Gibbons
Baseball Reference - John Gibbons