DUNEDIN, FLA.—Just another Valentine’s Day at Blue Jays training camp, and while manager John Gibbons waited patiently to feel the love from his bosses with a multi-year extension, right-hander Marcus Stroman learned he had won his arbitration case in the form of a one-year, $3.4-million deal. The club had been offering $3.1 million.
As for Gibbons, who is under contract for one more year, he seems quietly confident he will be taken care of by general manager Ross Atkins before opening day.
“We had talked about it, and really what it came down to — and I told Ross this — with a lot of free agents it’s going to be a busy off-season,” Gibbons recalled of his preliminary discussion following the AL championship series loss to the Indians.
“Really, it was his first full-blown off-season (as GM) and there were some big decisions. I said, we’ll just wait on my thing and if we get a chance this winter to get it done, great. If not we can go down to spring training and hopefully get something done. He wanted to sit down and I said, ‘Listen, you’ve got too much going on.’ ”
This is typical Gibbons thinking. He does not have an agent to represent him, relying on serendipitous circumstance to steer his way through MLB life. As a manager in the Mets’ farm system, he was blocked from a promotion to the big-league coaching staff and quit rashly without having another job lined up.
That led to Gibbons the job seeker, with Mets minor-league teammate J.P. Ricciardi offering to help him out. Ricciardi became Jays GM and gave his buddy a bullpen catcher position in 2002. His knee gave out in the ’pen after one month, though, so Ricciardi suggested a move to first-base coach. Manager Carlos Tosca gave out soon after, leaving Gibbons standing in the middle of the clubhouse at Yankee Stadium as the new manager. On it goes. He has managed twice, applying for neither job.
“I’m comfortable where I’m at,” Gibbons shrugged. “Everybody likes the rewards. The rewards of the game are huge, and I would like that, but that’s never been a driving force. I think we’ll get something done . . . but either way.”
He laughed when chided about the meandering route he has taken to his office at Florida Auto Exchange Stadium — feet up on the desk, smiling, waiting for camp to officially open on Wednesday with a workout for pitchers and catchers.
“I’ve been blessed,” the 54-year-old Texan admitted. “I’ve been sitting around many times thinking a lot of things have fallen in place for me. That’s why you don’t burn bridges. There’s something to that.
“When I walked away from the Mets to get a job closer to home, J.P. hadn’t been named the GM yet. Next thing you know he’s named GM, so he took care of me. Of course he had to fire me (in 2008), and the bench coaching job in Kansas City opened up with another friend of mine, Trey Hillman. When I got cut loose there, the (Double-A) San Antonio job just happened to be open and that’s my hometown.”
Somehow, Gibbons ranks 103rd in MLB history with 644 career wins. In two separate stints with the Jays he has accumulated nine seasons as a manager and is now one of the veteran skippers. When he started out in 2004, the Tigers’ Jim Leyland and the Yankees’ Joe Torre were kind to him. He is especially close to Leyland.
Gibbons is one of the last of the pre-analytics managers, and young managers who have followed him do not look to seek his council. He spoke about the most important lessons he has learned since taking over in 2004.
“How a big-league game works — it’s different,” Gibbons said. “There’s a lot at stake. You’re dealing with veteran superstars and you don’t get that in the minor leagues. They all have different personalities, come from different parts of the world. The game happens fast at the big-league level. It has slowed down for me, no doubt. You’ve been through so many different things. Mistakes here and there, so if you make them again it’s not going to destroy you because, hell, you’ve done it before. I think overall it’s like any profession. Experience does wonders.”
Gibbons has spoken with admiration in the past about how the Tampa Bay Rays always construct a solid bullpen using mostly veteran parts, and understand that you have to keep moving forward when it comes to relief. The Jays have never come closer to using that model than this year.
“It’s tough to gauge what your bullpen’s going to look like because year-to-year you never know,” Gibbons said. “Very rarely do you get a certain bullpen and it sticks with you for years. Somebody falters. Somebody gets hurt. There’s constant turnover, but I like the shape of our bullpen. I don’t think anybody’s done it better than Tampa does. With veterans, there are not as many guys out there that you’re guessing on. Veteran guys have all been through it before.”
As for Stroman, the pitcher refused to enlighten writers regarding his arbitration victory, but the exchange of numbers was so close that it can’t really be deemed a loss for the Jays.
For those wondering why the Jays didn’t just settle at Stroman’s number and keep him happy, the club has had a policy for at least a decade that arbitration-eligible players are expected to reach agreement before the numbers are exchanged, or else the club will follow through with the process all the way. Players know that. The Jays likely did not play dirty in the hearing room last week, held before a panel of three independent arbitrators. They may even have thrown in a box of chocolates.
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