John Gibbons joins Karim Kanji on the show.

We discuss;

Listener Questions:

Aneez from Whitby – It is said that rock stars want to be athletes, and athletes want to be rock stars… Adam Wainwright sang the National Anthem on Opening Day in St Louis… What’s the most John Gibbons Rock n Roll moment in the clubhouse, or on the road, or at a concert?

Joshua from Scarborough – What was your walk up music when you were a Met? What would your walk up song be if you were playing today? Why don’t managers have walk up songs? (Fav song is Simple Man by Lynyrd Skynyrd)

Baseball:

Two WS rings with Braves and 1986 Mets

Getting umps to throw John out

World Baseball Classic (Ohtani and Trout)

One of John’s good friends, JP Ricciardi – disliked in Toronto among the fan base. Why does JP get a bad rap? 

Pete Walker, pitching coach with the Jays, played for John

Blue Jays new manager Schnieder

Alex Anthopolous

Why John didn’t like the Home run jacket. 

Coming to Toronto end of month for the Sports Expo

Music:

Garth Brooks at METS spring training

Rik Emmett and Gil Moore of Triumph came to games a lot

Gil Moore helped John’s daughter, JORDAN, record couple of albums in his Toronto studio

Having dinner with Geddy Lee and RUSH

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.