| John Gibbons | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Gibbons in 2015 | |
| Los Angeles Angels | |
| Catcher /Manager /Coach | |
| Born: (1962-06-08)June 8, 1962 (age 63) Great Falls, Montana, U.S. | |
Batted: Right Threw: Right | |
| MLB debut | |
| April 11, 1984, for the New York Mets | |
| Last MLB appearance | |
| October 4, 1986, for the New York Mets | |
| MLB statistics | |
| Batting average | .220 |
| Home runs | 1 |
| Runs batted in | 2 |
| Managerial record | 793–789 |
| Winning % | .501 |
Stats atBaseball Reference  | |
| Teams | |
| |
| Career highlights and awards | |
John Michael Gibbons (born June 8, 1962[1]) is an Americanprofessionalbaseballcoach,manager and former player who is the bench coach for theLos Angeles Angels ofMajor League Baseball (MLB). He played in MLB as acatcher with theNew York Mets in 1984 and 1986.
Gibbons became a coach for theToronto Blue Jays in 2002 and then became manager in 2004. He was fired during the 2008 season. He coached for theKansas City Royals from 2009 to 2011 and managed in the minor leagues in 2012 before managing the Blue Jays again from 2013 to 2018. He last served as thebench coach for the New York Mets from 2024 to 2025.
Gibbons was born inGreat Falls, Montana, and raised inSan Antonio,Texas, where he attendedDouglas MacArthur High School.[2][3] The son ofUnited States Air Force colonel William Gibbons, he had his firstLittle League Baseball at-bat while playing inHappy Valley-Goose Bay,Labrador, Canada, where the family lived temporarily.[4]
Gibbons was selected by theNew York Mets with the 24th overall pick of the1980 amateur draft. He spent the next three years moving up through the Mets minor-league system.[5] In 1984, he was considered to be the Mets' top catching prospect, and was set to start the season in the majors.[6] However, a collision with the Phillies'Joe Lefebvre in late March landed him on the 15-day disabled list.[7] He eventually started six games at catcher in April 1984, but batted only .040 in that stretch.[5] He went back on the disabled list with a sore arm at the end of April, and was sent back toAAA Tidewater after that.[5]
Gibbons was next called up to the majors in the1986 Mets season. He appeared in 8 games and batted .474 (9 for 19), but the Mets already had the majors' best catcher inGary Carter and an established backup inEd Hearn. Gibbons served as the Mets'bullpen catcher during the 1986 postseason, and earned a World Series ring when the Mets won theWorld Series.[3][8]
Gibbons spent the next four seasons on five differentAAA teams. He retired as a player after the 1990 season.[5]
Gibbons began his coaching career with the Mets in 1990 as a minor league roving catching instructor.[9] In 1994, he joined the Mets'South Atlantic League franchise, theCapital City Bombers, as a hitting coach.
Gibbons began his minor-league managing career in the Mets' organization with theKingsport Mets, guiding them to theAppalachian League championship in 1995.[10] He followed that by guiding theSt. Lucie Mets to theFlorida State League title the next season. In 1998, he led theEastern League'sBinghamton Mets to the playoffs, and then followed that with three seasons as manager of theNorfolk Tides. He led the Tides to theInternational League playoffs in 2001.[citation needed]
Hired by theToronto Blue Jays' former general managerJ. P. Ricciardi in 2002, as abullpen catcher, Gibbons worked his way up tofirst base coach in June 2002. Ricciardi was his former roommate in the minor leagues.[11]
After Ricciardi fired managerCarlos Tosca in 2004, Gibbons was promoted to the manager position. The Blue Jays went 20–30 with Gibbons at the helm.[12]
At the end of the 2004 regular season, Gibbons signed a one-year contract as the manager for the 2005 season. He was later given a two-year contract extension just a week into the 2005 season.[13] Gibbons went on to lead the Jays to an 80–82 record in his first full season as a big league manager.[12]
Expectations were higher in 2006, after the Blue Jays acquiredA. J. Burnett,Troy Glaus,Lyle Overbay,B. J. Ryan, andBengie Molina. Toronto ended the season in second place in the American League East division with an 87–75 record, one game ahead of theBoston Red Sox.[12] Although they finished 10 games out of first, it was the first time the Jays had finished higher than third since 1993, when they won their second of two consecutiveWorld Series titles.
With the Blue Jays mired in a slump that put them five games below .500, Gibbons was fired on June 20, 2008. He was replaced by former Jays managerCito Gaston.[3] He finished with a record of 305 wins and 305 losses.[12]
On October 10, 2008, Gibbons was hired as thebench coach by theKansas City Royals, replacingDave Owen, who became thethird base coach.[14]
Gibbons was hired at the end of the 2011 season to manage theSan Diego Padres' Double-A affiliate, theSan Antonio Missions.[15]
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On November 20, 2012, the Blue Jays re-hired Gibbons as their manager[16] on a two–year rolling contract.[17] Gibbons was named to the 2013 American League All-Star coaching staff byDetroit Tigers managerJim Leyland.[18] The Blue Jays finished the 2013 season with a 74–88 record, putting them last in theAL East.[12]
The Blue Jays were six games up in the AL East title race on June 6, 2014, but posted a 45–54 record from that point on, including a 9–17 record in August. They would finish the season with a record of 83–79,[12] good enough for third place in the AL East,[12] and five games back of a wild card spot.[19]
On June 22, 2015, the Blue Jays defeated the Tampa Bay Rays 8–5 for Gibbons' 500th managerial win.[20] On August 2, Gibbons was ejected for the third time in the 2015 season, for arguing with umpireJim Wolf. Gibbons returned to the field later in the game during abench-clearing incident, and was subsequently suspended for one game.[21] On September 25, Gibbons and the Blue Jays ended the team's 22-year playoff drought by clinching a playoff berth.[22] Five days later, the Blue Jays defeated the Baltimore Orioles 15–2, and clinched the American League East.[23] On October 14, 2015, the Blue Jays defeated theTexas Rangers to win theAmerican League Division Series after losing the first two games of the series.[24] The Blue Jays moved on to play in their firstAmerican League Championship Series since 1993. They were defeated by the eventual World Series champions, theKansas City Royals, in six games.[25]
On April 5, 2016, after a 3–2 loss to the Tampa Bay Rays ended on a questionable slide byJosé Bautista which was ruled as a double play, Gibbons stated, "Maybe we'll come out and wear dresses tomorrow. Maybe that's what everybody's looking for." A day later, after he received criticism for his initial comment, he said that "the world needs to lighten up a little bit".[26] On May 17, Gibbons was suspended three games by Major League Baseball for his role in a benches-clearing incident between the Blue Jays andTexas Rangers on May 15 involving Rangers infielderRougned Odor and Blue Jays outfielderJosé Bautista.[27] On September 11, Gibbons was ejected for the eighth time in the 2016 season, tying the team's single-season record set byBobby Cox; he led the major leagues in 2016.[28][29] In 2016, he was successful on a lower percentage of replay challenges than any other MLB manager with 10 or more challenges, at 38.8%.[28] The Blue Jays made the playoffs for the second consecutive season, and defeated Baltimore in theWild Card Game to advance. In theDivision Series, the Blue Jays swept the Texas Rangers in three games. Toronto was eliminated by theCleveland Indians in theChampionship Series, four games to one.[30]
On April 1, 2017, Gibbons signed a two-year extension with the Blue Jays, that also included an option for the 2020 season.[31] In 2017, he was again successful on a lower percentage of replay challenges than any other MLB manager with 10 or more challenges, at 26.7%.[32]
On September 26, 2018, it was confirmed by the Blue Jays that Gibbons would not return for the2019 season.[33] Toronto mayorJohn Tory proclaimed the 26th as "John Gibbons Day" in Toronto, noting Gibbons' "tremendous contributions to the Toronto Blue Jays franchise."[34] His final game was a 9–4 loss to the Tampa Bay Rays.[35] The Blue Jays finished the2018 season with a 73–89 record.[35] In 2018 he was ejected seven times, more than any other manager in the major leagues.[36] During his second stint as Blue Jays manager, he finished with a record of 488 wins and 484 losses.[12] Overall, Gibbons has a 793–789 record from both stints as Blue Jays manager.[35]
On November 22, 2023, it was announced that Gibbons was expected to be hired as the bench coach of theNew York Mets.[37] Gibbons announced his departure from the Mets in 2025, after two seasons in the role.[38]
On November 22, 2025, theLos Angeles Angels hired Gibbons to serve as their bench coach under new managerKurt Suzuki.[39]
| Team | Year | Regular season | Postseason | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Games | Won | Lost | Win % | Finish | Won | Lost | Win % | Result | ||
| TOR | 2004 | 50 | 20 | 30 | .400 | 5th in AL East | – | – | – | – |
| TOR | 2005 | 162 | 80 | 82 | .494 | 3rd in AL East | – | – | – | – |
| TOR | 2006 | 162 | 87 | 75 | .537 | 2nd in AL East | – | – | – | – |
| TOR | 2007 | 162 | 83 | 79 | .512 | 3rd in AL East | – | – | – | – |
| TOR | 2008 | 74 | 35 | 39 | .473 | fired | – | – | – | – |
| TOR | 2013 | 162 | 74 | 88 | .457 | 5th in AL East | – | – | – | – |
| TOR | 2014 | 162 | 83 | 79 | .512 | 3rd in AL East | – | – | – | – |
| TOR | 2015 | 162 | 93 | 69 | .574 | 1st in AL East | 5 | 6 | .455 | LostALCS (KC) |
| TOR | 2016 | 162 | 89 | 73 | .549 | 2nd in AL East | 5 | 4 | .556 | LostALCS (CLE) |
| TOR | 2017 | 162 | 76 | 86 | .469 | 4th in AL East | – | – | – | – |
| TOR | 2018 | 162 | 73 | 89 | .451 | 4th in AL East | – | – | – | – |
| Total[12] | 1582 | 793 | 789 | .501 | 10 | 10 | .500 | |||
· Baseball Almanac| Sporting positions | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Kansas City Royals Bench Coach 2009–2011 | Succeeded by |
