Former Toronto Blue Jays manager John Gibbons leaving New York Mets but not retiring
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Former Toronto Blue Jays manager John Gibbons is leaving his bench coach role with the New York Mets but is not retiring.
For Gibby, it was a homecoming of sorts after the Mets hired him as their bench coach in 2023.
He has a long history with the club dating back to 1980, when he was the 24th overall pick by New York in the MLB Draft.
Gibbons, who played for the Mets as a catcher between the 1984 and 1986 seasons, is mostly known for his two stints as the manager of the Blue Jays from 2004 to 2008 and from 2013 to 2018.
During that time, he compiled a 793-789 record and helped Toronto snap a 22-year playoff drought while also securing back-to-back ALCS appearances in 2015 and 2016.
Gibbons hadn't coached in the major leagues since his departure from the Blue Jays before joining Mendoza and the Mets ahead of the 2024 campaign.
On Friday Gibby let the Mets know he was leaving, but not retiring, and that he thinks it's time for the team to have «some new blood» in his role.
Mets bench coach John Gibbons told the team he is leaving. He is not retiring. He likes Mendoza and told them he thinks it's time for some new blood in that job.
SNY's Andy Martino was the first to report the news on Friday morning.
Mets bench coach John Gibbons has informed the team that he is leaving,
@martinonyc reports.«He likes Carlos Mendoza and told them he thinks it's time for some new blood in that job»
@martinonyc reports.«He likes Carlos Mendoza and told them he thinks it's time for some new blood in that job»
This comes at a time when the New York Mets missed the playoffs with such immense expectations this year. Especially after signing Juan Soto to a whopping $765 million contract.
It also comes at a time when Atlanta Braves longtime manager Brian Snitker retired from baseball.
I'm a little suspicious of this move from Gibby to step away from the Mets because of the the timing.
Will John Gibbons former Blue Jays boss Alex Anthopoulos hire him for the vacant managerial position in Atlanta?
Do you think he and and former Blue Jays boss, now president of operations with the Atlanta Braves Alex Anthopoulos have been playing phone tag?
It wouldn't be a stretch to see Anthopoulos hire Gibbons as the Braves new manager given their history together.
I mean Gibby does have a winning record (793-789) as a manager, and he also has postseason experience.
Anthopoulos is also known to hire ex-employees from the Blue Jays to whatever organization he's been affiliated with since leaving Toronto.
And more than that Gibbons has been seething at a shot to manage an MLB club for years. He said so himself, he also said when asked, that these opportunities are very rare at this level.
This is just speculative of course, but what a great feel good story this would be if these two guys could come full circle and bring the Atlanta Braves back to the playoffs in 2026.
| POLL | ||
OCTOBRE 3 | 824 ANSWERS Former Toronto Blue Jays manager John Gibbons leaving New York Mets but not retiring Do you think Alex Anthopoulos will hire John Gibbons to be the next manager of the Atlanta Braves? | ||
| Yes | 368 | 44.7 % |
| No | 296 | 35.9 % |
| Too early to tell | 160 | 19.4 % |
| List of polls | ||
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