John Gibbons, who managed the Blue Jays for parts of five seasons from 2004 to 2008, will be introduced to the world (once again) today as the new Blue Jays manager.
Since leaving the Jays, he has been the bench coach with the Kansas City Royals and managed double-A San Antonio, in the San Diego Padres organization, to a 60-80 record this summer.
In another one of those slideshows on BleacherReport, Gibbons was included in a list of the 15 most controversial managers (do the names Ozzie Guillen, Billy Martin, Bobby Valentine strike a familiar note?) with references to the Gibbons altercations with players Shea Hillenbrand, Ted Lilly, and others.
But after a tenure in which reportedly Jays GM Alex Anthopoulos and former Jays (and new Red Sox) manager John Farrell did not get along and there were numerous reports of Farrell and his coaches not cracking down on his younger players, Anthopoulos, like his Boston counterpart Ben Cherington, has opted to stake his future on a name, and relationship, that is familiar.
The news of Gibbons’ hiring was first reported by Bob Elliott of the Toronto Sun.
John Gibbons .500 Toronto Record
| Rk | Year | Age | Tm | Lg | G | W | L | Finish | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2004 | 42 | Toronto Blue Jays | AL | 2nd of 2 | 50 | 20 | 30 | .400 | 5 | |
| 2 | 2005 | 43 | Toronto Blue Jays | AL | 162 | 80 | 82 | .494 | 3 | ||
| 3 | 2006 | 44 | Toronto Blue Jays | AL | 162 | 87 | 75 | .537 | 2 | ||
| 4 | 2007 | 45 | Toronto Blue Jays | AL | 162 | 83 | 79 | .512 | 3 | ||
| 5 | 2008 | 46 | Toronto Blue Jays | AL | 1st of 2 | 74 | 35 | 39 | .473 | 5 | |
| 5 years | 610 | 305 | 305 | .500 | 3.6 |
Toronto’s managerial history
| Rk | Mgr | Yrs | From | To | G | W | L | G>.500 | BestFin | WrstFin | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Bobby Cox | 4 | 1982 | 1985 | 648 | 355 | 292 | .549 | 63 | 1 | 6 |
| 2 | John Farrell | 2 | 2011 | 2012 | 324 | 154 | 170 | .475 | -16 | 4 | 4 |
| 3 | Jim Fregosi | 2 | 1999 | 2000 | 324 | 167 | 157 | .515 | 10 | 3 | 3 |
| 4 | Cito Gaston | 12 | 1989 | 2010 | 1731 | 894 | 837 | .516 | 57 | 1 | 5 |
| 5 | John Gibbons | 5 | 2004 | 2008 | 610 | 305 | 305 | .500 | 0 | 2 | 5 |
| 6 | Roy Hartsfield | 3 | 1977 | 1979 | 484 | 166 | 318 | .343 | -152 | 7 | 7 |
| 7 | Tim Johnson | 1 | 1998 | 1998 | 163 | 88 | 74 | .543 | 14 | 3 | 3 |
| 8 | Buck Martinez | 2 | 2001 | 2002 | 215 | 100 | 115 | .465 | -15 | 3 | 3 |
| 9 | Bobby Mattick | 2 | 1980 | 1981 | 268 | 104 | 164 | .388 | -60 | 7 | 7 |
| 10 | Mel Queen | 1 | 1997 | 1997 | 5 | 4 | 1 | .800 | 3 | 5 | 5 |
| 11 | Gene Tenace | 1 | 1991 | 1991 | 33 | 19 | 14 | .576 | 5 | 1 | 1 |
| 12 | Carlos Tosca | 3 | 2002 | 2004 | 382 | 191 | 191 | .500 | 0 | 3 | 5 |
| 13 | Jimy Williams | 4 | 1986 | 1989 | 523 | 281 | 241 | .538 | 40 | 1 | 4 |
