John Gibbons returns as Blue Jays manager

The Toronto Blue Jays reached into the past in introducing the future Tuesday morning.

John Gibbons, who skippered the Blue Jays between 2004 and 2008, was re-hired as manager, succeeding John Farrell, who bolted for the Boston Red Sox following two mediocre seasons in Toronto.

Gibbons, who managed the Blue Jays for parts of five seasons from 2004 to 2008, will be welcomed back as Toronto's new (old?) manager at a 9:30 a.m. ET media conference.

Bringing John Gibbons back as manager is...

Blue Jays general manager Alex Anthopoulos is also expected to address the acquisition of shortstop Jose Reyes, left-handed pitcher Mark Buehrle, right-hander Josh Johnson, catcher John Buck and utility man Emilio Bonifacio in the much-documented, 12-player trade with the Miami Marlins, finalized Monday, and the signing of free-agent outfielder Melky Cabrera for an estimated $16 million US over two years.

Gibbons, 50, is said to be a close friend of Anthopoulos, which may speak to him being hired over rumoured candidates like Jim Riggleman and Jim Tracy.

Gibbons, from Great Falls, Mont., first replaced fired Carlos Tosca as Blue Jays manager in August 2004, going 20-30 the rest of the way and posting a 305-305 record in 610 games at the helm.

He has since served as bench coach with the Kansas City Royals and last season managed the San Antonio Missions of the Texas League, San Diego Padres' double-A affiliate.

Gibbons was originally hired in 2002 as a bullpen coach by then-GM J.P. Ricciardi, his former minor-league roomate, and later became Toronto's first-base coach under Tosca.

Gibbons' first stint as manager was highlighted by an 87-75 mark in 2006, when the Blue Jays rose beyond third place in the American League East for the first time since winning back-to-back World Series in 1992-93.

But his long-held reputation as an affable players' coach was damaged that season in somewhat unprofessional confrontations with disgruntled veterans Shea Hillenbrand and Ted Lilly.

Gibbons challenged Hillenbrand to a fight after the outspoken first baseman wrote critical slogans — "play for yourself" and "the ship is sinking" — on a board used to post batting practice times.

Hillenbrand was promptly designated for assignment and traded two days later to the San Francisco Giants.

Later that season, Gibbons reportedly shoved Lilly during a heated exchange in the tunnel leading to the clubhouse after removing the pitcher from a game in which he had squandered a healthy lead.

Too intense? Too volatile? Too average? Viewpoints at the time often varied on Gibbons, who, ultimately, was fired and replaced in June 2008 by celebrated World Series-winning skipper Cito Gaston — by coincidence, the only other manager to be hired twice by the Blue Jays.

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