At the time, there were high expectations of Gibbons being the Mets catcher of the future. In 1983, he was the AA Jackson Mets co-MVP making the All Star team, hitting .298 with 18 HRs.
In 1984, he was promoted to the Mets big league squad, making his MLB debut on April 11th, 1984.
Gibbons was behind the plate catching pitcher Walt Terrell as he & the Mets beat the Atlanta Braves 6-1. Overall he struggled at the plate going just 2-31 (.065) , then suffered an injury, & spent the remainder of the season at AAA Tidewater.
The Mets acquired Gary Carter in the off season and Gibbons spent all of 1985 at AAA Tidewater, batting .259 with 9 HRs & 30 RBIs.
In the Mets 1986 Championship season he played 96 games at AAA Tidewater, batting .246. He got a September call up when Carter went on the DL.
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He spent time as the Mets bullpen catcher in the post season.
After the Championship season, he was back at AAA Tidewater for 1987. After eight seasons in the Mets farm system he was traded away to the Los Angeles Dodgers in April of 1988, for Craig Shipley. Injuries took a toll on him and he never made the majors again, retiring as a player in 1990.
Retirement: After his playing days, he immediately became a Mets minor league instructor, from 1991-1993.

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.
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Later that same year, Gibbons pulled Ted Lilly from a game after he had given up seven runs. Atfirst 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.

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.
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Gibbons with Geddy Lee from RUSH |
That year he was named coach for the AL All Star team at Citi Field by Tiger manager; Jim Leyland.
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 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 Encarnancion (39 HRs), pitchers Mark Buehrle (15-8) & 13 game winners Drew Hutchinson & Marco Estrada the Blue Jays won their first divisional title since 1993.

In May of 2016 Gibbons had interesting month. 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 Gibbons fashion he told the world what needs to be said "People need to lighten up"!
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.

Josh Tole & Tro Tulowitski 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.

It was announced in September of 2018 that he would not return for the 2019 season. 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.
Trivia: Not a big fan of replay challenges, he usually finished with the least amount of challenges than any other MLB manager.

In his managerial career, with two stints as head of the Jays, he posted a 793-789, record. Gibbons had two straight post season appearances in 2015-2016. In the post season he was 10-10.
Family: John & his wife Julie have been married for thirty plus years. Together they have three children.
His son Mike Gibbons is a high school football coach in Ohio.
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