A captivating and candid memoir from one of the most beloved and colorful figures in Toronto Blue Jays history

Over 11 years and two separate managerial stints with the Toronto Blue Jays, John Gibbons endeared himself to fans with his folksy manner and his frequent battles with umpires: “Here comes Gibby!” Winning helped too. Under Gibbons’s management, the Jays made the American League Championship Series in 2015, ending a 22-year playoff drought; then they did it again in 2016. Along the way the team defied odds, won over a nation, and with one flip of a bat produced one of the most iconic moments in MLB history. Now, in his memoir, Gibby shares the story: an on-field career that didn’t pan out, but a managing career that did … eventually.

Raised in a military family, he played his first competitive baseball in Newfoundland and Labrador, and, with the family now in San Antonio, Texas, Gibby, a catcher, developed into a first-round draft pick of the New York Mets. While Gibbons only played 18 major league games, he did earn a World Series ring as the 1986 Mets bullpen catcher and knew all the characters from that team, including Doc Gooden, Darryl Strawberry, Lenny Dykstra, and Gary Carter. In 1990, Gibby began his journey as a coach and manager. An old teammate, J.P. Ricciardi, hired him to work with the Jays, and he moved his way up the ranks and into the hearts of baseball fans.

Sales and Market Bullets

• A WINNING MANAGER: While a first-round draft pick for the New York Mets, his on-field career didn’t quite pan out the way he hoped, and Gibbons only played a handful of major league games. He began his coaching career with the Mets, moved on to be the manager for the Toronto Blue Jays in 2002, and then coached for the Kansas City Royals and the San Antonio Missions. In 2013 he returned to the Jays for what would become a historic five seasons.
• CANADA’S TEAM: As Canada’s only MLB team, the Toronto Blue Jays are intensely popular: 2.3M followers on their official Twitter and an average of 500K people tune into regular season games. With John Gibbons at the helm, the Jays made the American League Championship Series in 2015, ending a 22-year playoff drought, and again in 2016, with viewership reaching a fever pitch.
• BASEBALL BOOKS POPULARITY: ECW’s 2019 book Hello Friends!, by longtime Toronto Blue Jays radio broadcaster Jerry Howarth, performed exceptionally well and was a national bestseller.
• THE MEDIA LOVES GIBBY: Known for his fights with umpires, Gibbons always provided content for the broadcasters, sports media, and podcasters to talk about during and after games. In 2021, Fansided, a Blue Jays media site, wrote, “It’s been almost three years since John Gibbons sat in the Blue Jays dugout and managed the team, but he may be more popular than ever.”

Audience

• Toronto Blue Jays fans
• Baseball fans
• Sports media readers
• Biography and memoir readers