John Gibbons: Current Mets Bench Coach (2024) & 1986 World Champion Mets Reserve Catcher (1984 - 1986)

John Michael Gibbons was born June 8, 1962, in Great Falls, Montana. His father was a United States Air Force Colonel & his mother a dental hygienist.

By high school he was living in San Antonio, Texas then attended the University of Texas.

The five foot eleven, catcher known as “Gibby” was the New York Mets first round draft pick in 1980, the 24th pick overall.

At the time, there were high expectations of Gibbons being the Mets catcher of the future. In 1980 he played at A ball Kingsport with another Mets number one pick, Darryl Strawberry. He spent the next two years at A-ball Shelby becoming the team's primary catcher.

In 1983, he was the AA Jackson Mets co-MVP making the All-Star team, hitting .298 with 18 HRs. He was promoted to AAA Tidewater to play in the International League Playoffs going 3-5 with a pair of doubles.

In 1984, Davey Johnson wanted him to spend a full year at AAA but changed his mind as the Mets desperately needed a catcher. Gibbons promoted to the Mets big league squad. 

Mets Career: On April 11th, Gibbons was behind the plate catching pitcher Walt Terrell as he & the Mets beat the Atlanta Braves 6-1. Overall, Gibbons struggled at the plate going just 2-31 (.065). He then suffered two injuries & Mike Fitzgerald took over the catching role. Gibbons spent the remainder of the season at AAA Tidewater. There he hit .256 with 6 HRs&27 RBIs. 

He returned to the Mets as a September callup, playing in just two games.

1985: In the off season the Mets acquired Gary Carter. Manager Davey Johnson felt Gibbons was too young to sit on the bench all season behind Carter, so he was sent back down. Gibbons spent all of 1985 at AAA Tidewater, batting .259 with 9 HRs & 30 RBIs.

1986 Mets Championship Season: In 96 games at AAA Tidewater he struggled at the plate, batting .246 but he played a great defense. He got called up when Gary Carter went on the DL. 

On August 17th, in his first game back, he drew a walk & doubled in a 9-2 Mets win over the rival St. Louis Cardinals in the second game of a double header at Shea Stadium. He collected a hit in his next game then had a multi-hit game in a 6-5 win at San Diego. Gibbons hit .474 in eight games but was not eligible to make the post season roster. He spent time as the Mets bullpen catcher thru the 1986 NLCS & World Series.

After the Championship season, Gibbons was back at AAA Tidewater for 1987. He got called back up
in September but still didn't get into a game even after the Mets were eliminated from contention. Gibbons realized he wasn't going to get a chance to play again in New York, so he asked GM Frank Cashen to be traded. 

 In April of 1988, after eight seasons in the Mets farm system, Gibbons was traded to the Los Angeles Dodgers for Craig Shipley. He played in the minor leagues for the Dodgers (1988) Rangers (1989) & Phillies (1990) over the next three seasons.

Injuries took a toll on Gibbons & he never made the majors again. Getting frustrated & not wanting to just hang on he retired as a player in 1990.

Retirement: After his playing days, he immediately became a Mets minor league catching instructor (1991-1993) replacing the retiring Vern Hoscheit. 

Gibbons former minor league roommate J.P. Ricciardi had become the GM of the Toronto Blue Jays. In 2002 Ricciardi hired Gibbons as the Blue Jays bullpen catcher. Gibbons eventually became the Jays first base coach. In 2004 he was named the Blue Jays manager.

In his first season as manager, he brought a young team to an 82-80 record in the tough AL East. In 2006 the Blue Jays acquired some big free agents & finished in second place (87-75) their best record since their Championship year of 1993.

Drama: In May 2005, pitcher Dave Bush got publicly upset on the mound after being removed from a game. Gibbons balled out the starting pitcher in the dugout in the view of everyone. The next day Bush was sent to the minor leagues, and then soon traded to the Milwaukee Brewers.

In July 2006, Shea Hillenbrand wrote negative comments about the manager on the Blue Jays clubhouse bulletin board. Gibbons confronted him in a closed team meeting allegedly challenging him to a fight. Hillenbrand, who also has a history of troubles, was upset about his lack of playing time.

Then on a personal note, Hillenbrand stated that no one on the team, had congratulated him after he & his wife had recently adopted a child. Three days later the Blue Jays traded Hillenbrand, who was hitting .301 at the time.

Later that same year, Gibbons pulled Ted Lilly from a game after he had given up seven runs. At first Lily refused to surrender the ball, and then later in the dugout tunnel, the two exchanged shoves.

Two years later in 2008, Gibbons benched veteran big Frank Thomas, after he fell off to a .167 batting average.

Thomas was upset over his lack of playing time & got into a heated confrontation with Gibbons. Thomas was released the next day. 

When the Blue Jays fell out of contention in 2008, Gibbons was fired. He became the bench coach for Kansas City Royals from 2009-2011. In late 2011 he was hired as manager of the San Diego Padres AA San Antonio team.

In 2013 he was once again hired as manager of the Toronto Blue Jays, who had spent a lot of money in the off season signing & trading for some priced free agents. The Jays added former Mets Jose Reyes & pitcher R.A. Dickey, along with Mark Buerle & Melky Cabrera. Toronto had a slow start & lots of injuries, finishing a disappointing fifth (74-88). 

That year he was named coach for the AL All Star team by AL Champion Tigers manager Jim Leyland, for the game played at Citi Field.

Gibbons with Geddy Lee from the Canadian Rock band RUSH

In 2014 the Jays finished at 83-79 (.512) in third place in the AL East. The Jays had their best record since the 2010 season.

In 2015 Gibbons & his Blue Jays won the AL Eastern Title, winning 93 games. That year he also won his 500th game as manager. 

In August of that year he was ejected from a game after arguing with Umpire Jim Wolf. He returned to the field during a bench clearing brawl later in the game. That move got him a suspension.

Behind A.L. MVP Josh Donaldson (41 HRs 123 RBIs) & sluggers Jose Bautista (40 HRs) & Juan Encarnacion (39 HRs), pitchers Mark Buehrle (15-8) & 13 game winners Drew Hutchinson & Marco Estrada the Blue Jays won their first divisional title since 1993. 

2015 Post Season: They beat the Texas Rangers in the ALDS & after being behind three games to one to the Kansas City Royals they forced a Game Seven but lost.

2016 & Three Ejections: In May of 2016 Gibbons had interesting month as he was ejected three times in a seven-game period & served a three-game suspension for arguing with umpires & his role in the classic brawl with the Texas Rangers involving Rougned Odor & Jose Bautista.

After a bad loss early in the month he received criticism from people after he insulted his team saying maybe they should come out wearing dresses the next game. In classic Gibbon's fashion he told the world what needs to be said "People need to lighten up"!

Drama with MVP: In August he had an incident with AL MVP Josh Donaldson who threw a bat in the dugout after striking out. The bat landed near Gibbons & he quickly confronted his player. Josh Tole & Troy Tulowitzki broke it up. Both player & manager downplayed the situation after the game.

That year the Jays (89-73) came in second place & made the playoffs for the second year in a row,
defeating the Baltimore Orioles in the AL Wild Card Game. But they then lost to the eventual AL Champion Cleveland Indians in the ALDS four games to one.

2017 - 2018: In April of 2017, Gibbons signed a two-year deal to stay on with the Blue Jays as Manager though 2018. In those two years the Jays finished fourth both times falling below .500. 

He finished the year tying Bobby Cox for the record of getting ejected eight times during the season. In his career he has been tossed out of games over forty times as manager. 

It was announced in September of 2018 that he would not return for the 2019 season. 

John Gibbons Day: Toronto Mayor John Tory, then declared May 26th to be John Gibbons Day for all his years if service at the helm of the Jays.

Unfortunately, his final game ended in a loss. To close out his tenure, he led all mangers in ejections that year with seven, 

Trivia: Not a big fan of replay challenges, he usually finished with the least number of challenges than any other MLB manager. 

Managerial Career: In his managerial career, with two stints as head of the Jays, Gibbons posted a 793-789, record. Second only to Cito Gaston in victories. 

Gibbons club had two straight post season appearances in 2015-2016. In the post season Gibbons had a 10-10 record.

Family: John & his wife Julie have been married since 1987, together they have three children. 

Their son Mike Gibbons was a high school football coach in Ohio. Their daughter Jordan Gibbons was a singer in the country band Southtown.

Return to the Mets: In 2024 Gibbons was named Mets bench coach under manager Carlos Mendoza. Blue Jays associate manager Demarlo Hale was Gibbon's bench coach from 2013-2018 & referred Gibby to Mendoza as a coach.

Quotes- John Gibbons: "It just felt right. I'm not a guy chasing that managerial job anymore. I'm a member of the Mets. I would love to help them get back to the top. There is a good foundation there."