There’s an argument to be made that few sports figures have been able to change how they are perceived in this city more than John Gibbons.
When Gibbons was first hired as manager of the Blue Jays in 2004, he was viewed as little more than a lackey for his former roommate and then general manager J.P. Ricciardi. In the years that followed, his club’s continued failures did little to change that perception before he was fired in 2008.
Gibbons returned less than five years later, this time under GM Alex Anthopoulos. It was a shocking hire that few saw coming and led to criticism even from some of the club’s most loyal supporters. When a beefed-up Jays roster then fell flat on its face during that ensuing season, the complaints only grew.
In 2015, everything changed. Anthopoulos went on an epic spending spree at the trade deadline and the Jays caught fire. They won an American League East title, José Bautista capped a first-round series victory with an epic bat flip and the Jays pushed the Kansas City Royals to six games before bowing out in the AL Championship Series.
The boos turned to cheers. Gibbons guided his team back to the ALCS in 2016 and remained with the club through 2018. By the time he left, Gibbons had become a fan favourite and ranked second in franchise history in managerial wins.
After Gibbons’ departure, his following grew through a popular Jays-centric podcast, his book “Tales of a Baseball Lifer” and speaking engagements across the country. When he returns these days, it’s often to a hero’s welcome as evidenced by last year’s thunderous applause from the Rogers Centre crowd at Bautista’s Level of Excellence ceremony.
“Any time you win, it changes everything, even if you’re not the world champs,” said Gibbons, back in town this week as a bench coach with the New York Mets. “My first go-around, I think I was viewed as Ricciardi’s right-hand man, but we weren’t very good; we were average at best. This is a great sports city. They don’t settle for that and I don’t blame them. They pay a lot of money to come to these games. They want to see teams excel.
“But I didn’t put myself out there to try and get to know people. My second go-around, I told myself I was going to enjoy it a bit more. That didn’t get off to a great start, either, but eventually we got better players and things came together. Naturally, when you’re associated with that people like you more.”
During Monday’s media availability, Gibbons was asked multiple times about that initial post-season run. One reporter questioned what Gibbons and Anthopoulos learned during previous failures that helped them succeed in 2015.
That prompted a quip from a local columnist who followed up by asking what he had learned from Mark Shapiro and Ross Atkins, the duo responsible for his firing in 2018. The media came prepared with jokes and the former Jays skipper had a couple ready, too.
“Hey, they were good to me,” Gibbons replied with a sparkle in his eye. “They put some money in my pocket. They gave me a little contract extension. I can never fault anybody for that.”
Following a five-year absence, Gibbons made his return to a big-league dugout earlier this year. He was hand-picked by rookie manager Carlos Mendoza because of his experience and reputation as a great communicator. Together they have led a surprising Mets team into the thick of the race for the final National League wild-card spot.
After previously interviewing for managerial openings in Boston and Houston, Gibbons was asked if he still wanted another shot at handling the top job. The now 62-year-old answered the only way he knows how: humour with a touch of self-deprecation.
“I don’t really think about it,” said Gibbons, who notably did not receive a video tribute during Monday’s series opener. “I’ll tell you what, this bench thing is a pretty good job.
“DeMarlo (Hale) would tell you that, but they got two or three of them over there don’t they? You know, you just tell the manager when he asks, ‘Yeah that was a great move, I’d do the same thing.’ Then the game’s over and you go home. Let him worry about it, right?”
No manager is going to win everyone over. Cito Gaston still has critics despite leading the Jays to back-to-back World Series titles in 1992-93. Gibbons surely still has his fair share of haters, too, yet even they would have to admit his approval rating soared to heights once unimaginable.
Gibbons might not have learned much from Shapiro and Atkins, but perhaps they could learn something from him. In the world of professional sports, winning trumps just about everything and will forever alter how you are viewed. Whether this front office sticks around long enough to find out is a topic for another day.
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