Blue Jays manager?s baseball journey brings him back to Edmonton

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Toronto Blue Jays manager John Gibbons (centre) and players Drew Hutchison, left, J.P. Arencibia, Anthony Gose and Colby Rasmus are in Edmonton as part of the annual Blue Jays Winter Tour on Jan. 12, 2013.

Photograph by: John Lucas , Edmonton Journal

EDMONTON - The last time John Gibbons? baseball journey took him to Edmonton he was a 26-year-old minor-league catcher trying to get back to the majors.

Fast-forward a quarter century and Gibbons? baseball travels have once again taken him through the City of Champions, as the Toronto Blue Jays manager is in town for the final leg of the Jays? annual winter tour.

The four-city tour wraps up Sunday when Gibbons ? along with players J.P. Arencibia, Colby Rasmus, Anthony Gose and Drew Hutchison ? visits CFB Edmonton before an autograph session at West Edmonton Mall, after spending Saturday afternoon at the Stollery Children?s Hospital.

For Gibbons, his second trip to Edmonton brings back a host of memories, including a July wedding Edmontonians have yet to forget.

?I remember (Wayne) Gretzky got married, I think it was on the weekend we were here and I remember that was the big thing here while we played a series in town,? Gibbons recalled. ?That was the last time I was here, but it wasn?t quite this cold.?

While Gibbons? last trip to the Alberta capital to take on the Trappers didn?t receive much fanfare, this time there will be plenty of eager Jays fanatics looking to snag an autograph from the man tasked with taking Toronto back to the post-season for the first time in two decades.

After managing the San Diego Padres AA affiliate in San Antonio last season, Gibbons was handed the reins of the Jays back in November by Toronto general manager Alex Anthopoulos and is more than happy his trip back to the big leagues has a frigid pit stop along the way.

?Truthfully no,? laughed Gibbons when asked if he thought his baseball career would ever take him back to Edmonton. ?I always enjoyed coming up here, because we went to Vancouver, Edmonton, and Calgary ? they all had teams. It was always pretty neat.?

?I never expected to be back, but I?m glad I?m here.?

But baseball, as Gibbons has found out over the more than three decades since he started his pro career in Kingsport, Tenn., has a funny way of taking you where you least expect.

That hasn?t been a bad thing for Gibbons as of late, as his hiring by Anthopoulos caught virtually everyone off guard, including Gibbons, who?s only previous major-league managing experience came with the Jays between 2004 and 2008.

?I was following (the manager search) all along and Alex and I had remained friends and kept in touch, but we never really talked about this. The odds of this happening, I would?ve never guessed it. I didn?t think he?d ever be able to pull it off if he tried,? Gibbons said. ?He called me one night ? it was that Sunday night ? and said, ?Do you want the managing job??

And I was like, ?What? Yeah, I?d love it,? and they announced it the Tuesday. It came fast and it came out of nowhere. He?s put a lot of faith in me with what he?s put together, so now it?s my job to pull it all together.?

With the reality of his new job title having sunk in, Gibbons can now focus on baseball and the abundance of riches he has been handed, most notably the team?s impressive crop of starting pitchers.

The additions of reigning National League Cy Young winner R.A. Dickey from the New York Mets and both Mark Buehrle and Josh Johnson from the Miami Marlins, have created a championship calibre starting rotation that?s rounded out by returnees Ricky Romero and Brandon Morrow.

?The good thing about it is with that pitching staff, you just throw those guys out there every fifth day and let them do their thing. They?ve all had some success and they know what they?re doing,? Gibbons said. ?You just let them loose whenever their turn comes up and get out of their way and let them pitch.?

Along with the Jays? starting rotation being among the best in baseball, the addition of shortstop Jose Reyes, who was part of the trade with Miami, means expectations are sky-high for a team that already had several key pieces in place before Anthopoulos? impressive off-season.

But as Gibbons knows all too well, nothing?s guaranteed in a game that?s provided him plenty of forks in the road.

?All the different spots I?ve played in, coached in, drove my family through, I?ve been all over this continent and it?s been a neat experience. Hopefully, I?ve got some time left and we?ll make it successful,? Gibbons said. ?Hopefully, the next time we?re here, we?ve got something good to show everybody.?

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Source: http://www.edmontonjournal.com/sports/Blue+Jays+manager+baseball+journey+brings+back+Edmonton/7812257/story.html

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