Beloved Blue Jays icon using his knowledge to beat them
Photo credit: https://www.sportsnet.ca
If you were watching the recent Blue Jays series against the Mets and Citi Field, you may have noticed a few things. Not only did fans get to see Juan Soto, Pete Alonso, and Francisco Lindor, but if they looked into the Mets dugout they would have spotted a familiar face: John Gibbons.
The two-time former Blue Jays manager is now the bench coach for New York.
Other than the Blue Jays, Gibby has had his longest, and most well-known association with the Mets.
He was drafted by the team as the 24th overall pick in the 1980 amateur draft. A collision at home plate derailed his development, but he eventually played a handful of games in the majors in both 1984 and 1986, when he hit his first and only major league home run.
He even began his coaching career with the Mets in 1990 as a roving catching instructor before coaching and managing at various levels until 2001. He was then contacted by his former minor league roommate, J.P. Ricciardi, to be the Blue Jays bullpen catcher in 2002. He eventually worked his way up to first base coach.
While his first stint as Blue Jays manager - from 2004-2008 - wasn't as memorable, he did finish with a .500 record. After leaving, he became the bench coach for the Kansas City Royals, then a minor league manager for the San Diego Padres.
Gibbons re-joined the Mets as bench coach prior to the 2024 season and found immediate success. Now all of Queens will be victim to his waddle and sense of humour.
Best of luck Gibby.
| POLL | ||
AVRIL 6 | 114 ANSWERS Beloved Blue Jays icon using his knowledge to beat them Was John Gibbons a good manager? | ||
| Yes | 94 | 82.5 % |
| No | 20 | 17.5 % |
| List of polls | ||
TRENDING NOW
