OPINION: The real John Gibbons

In many ways the public perception of John Gibbons is based on an oversimplified caricature of the man as one part raging hot-head eager to fight players, one part country bumpkin meandering his way through the dugout.

It is that image, inaccurately forged during his first run as Toronto Blue Jays manager from 2004-08, that left a sizable portion of the fan-base feeling underwhelmed, even disappointed, as word of his return engagement broke Tuesday, a dampener for some on what’s been a dream off-season to this point.

But Gibbons the man is not at all what so many think he is – he’s smart, savvy and as laid-back as they come – and Gibbons the manager – clever, easygoing yet intense and just the right level of demanding – may very well be the right person at the right time for Alex Anthopoulos post-John Farrell.

Is he a slam dunk to lead the Blue Jays back to the promised land? Nope, but then again nobody, no matter their stature, comes with any guarantees.

“This game gets so hung up on names sometimes, and not the substance behind the person,” says J.P. Ricciardi, the former Blue Jays GM interrupting a Hawaii vacation to discuss the man he hired as manager in 2004. “Gibby’s not a sexy name but he’s a good manager, simple as that.

“You need a manager you can trust, a manager you can relate to, a manager you can talk to, and I’m really happy for Alex that he has that in Gibby. For where Alex is at in his career and what Gibby brings to the table with his experience, the timing for both of them is perfect.”

In what’s become a remarkable all-in winter for the Blue Jays, Anthopoulos is certainly banking big that his return plays out that way. Gibbons, contacted late last week, interviewed Sunday and hired Monday, was given a two-year deal plus an option, not to mention the responsibility to mould the assembled talent into a winner.

While on paper the task looks simple, that will be by far the affable 50-year-old’s toughest task, and the experience from his first stint in the manager’s chair may prove crucial.

Ricciardi promoted Gibbons from first base coach late in the 2004 season to replace the fired Carlos Tosca, and after a transitional 2005 season in which young players like Aaron Hill, Alex Rios and Gustavo Chacin were integrated into the roster, the Blue Jays loaded up for 2006 by signing free agents A.J. Burnett, B.J. Ryan, and Bengie Molina, and trading for Troy Glaus and Lyle Overbay.

Gibbons led them to 87 wins that season – the club’s most since an 88-victory campaign in 1998 under Tim Johnson – while navigating his way through messy altercations with Shea Hillenbrand and Ted Lilly that ended up unfairly defining his time in Toronto.

In Lilly’s case, the left-hander refused to hand over the ball on the mound after being pulled from a game, and rather than addressing it discreetly, Gibbons walked off the field, entered the dugout and followed his pitcher down the tunnel, where the two wrestled. They made up soon after, for a while they even jogged together, each knowing they should have handled things better.

The Hillenbrand situation was far more complicated, as the disgruntled infielder’s frustrations over playing time and other issues led him to scribble “This ship is sinking” on a clubhouse whiteboard before a game. Alerted to the matter, Gibbons charged into a players meeting and confronted Hillenbrand, responding to the challenge on his authority with aggression to maintain his credibility.

While Tuesday he described the incidents as “kind of a black eye for me,” and added “I regret that happening, it didn’t really show who I was as an individual,” during a June 2011 interview with sportsnet.ca he had a different spin on things.

“I’ve always had trouble with malcontents,” Gibbons said then. “I’ve seen other guys who have tried to brush it aside, letting things go, and I think that blows up on you more than if you take a stand. Very rarely do I do things with a knee-jerk reaction. When I’ve had trouble it’s been building over time.

“I don’t know if (the Hillenbrand situation) festered too long, but it came to a point enough was enough. That was about the team, about winning some ballgames, and if I’m treating you like a man, that’s got to go both ways. Don’t cut my throat, we can deal one-on-one on things. I have trouble when you’re cutting and slashing me when I’m not around.”

That willingness to tackle a problem head on is an asset in Anthopoulos’s eyes – “I actually looked at it as a strong point,” he said – and is something that may have been lacking under Farrell, who would speak to players about issues but perhaps not address them in a forceful enough fashion.

A strength Gibbons has is in dealing with people and knowing not only when stick is needed in place of carrot, but also how much stick is necessary.

Any player who mistakes his easygoing demeanour for weakness is in for a rude awakening.

“What happened with Shea Hillenbrand, he better be confronted and for a manager at times, it needs to be done in front of his teammates – I don’t know any other way to deal with that,” said Anthopoulos. “It didn’t reflect who he was, and I think it’s a strong suit that we know he’s a great guy and he’s easy to play for, but if you push, he will react.”

Still, that’s not something Gibbons enjoys, and as a first-round pick of the New York Mets in 1980 who wasn’t able to realize his potential and played only 18 games in the big-leagues, he understands how difficult the game can be.

His goal is to create a relaxed environment for his players to work in, and with his mischievous grins, hearty bellows and penchant for backslaps, he usually does a good job of keeping things loose (in the first three minutes of his news conference Tuesday the unofficial tally had him making more jokes than Farrell did combined in his two seasons here).

“If they don’t know you, you’ve got to gain some credibility, you can’t go in there and muscle your way around, you’ve got to get to know these guys,” Gibbons said of dealing with players. “I respect what they do because they sure as heck did it better than I ever did it. I also remember how tough it was to play the game, you can’t ever lose sight of that.

“This is an ego-filled business, but there’s still got to be some structure.”

Just ask the Miami Marlins about that, as their failure to set up the right base after their additions of Jose Reyes, Mark Buehrle and Heath Bell last winter helped lead to the blockbuster that sent Reyes, Buehrle, Josh Johnson, Emilio Bonifacio and John Buck to the Blue Jays.

Gibbons must establish the right environment for a happier outcome this time.

“That’s a tough question,” he said when asked what can be done to avoid Miami’s train-wreck. “I wasn’t there, but they had little controversy early in the season with Ozzie (praising Fidel Castro), that didn’t help things, I’m sure, but then it looked like things never quite clicked.

“It’s a ton of talent but that happens, it’s not the first time. You’ve got to get everybody on the same page, it’s got to be a team, a bunch of individuals aren’t going to win you anything.”

It’s a simple, direct assessment, with no mangled attempts at corporate gobbledygook.

Take the time to reintroduce yourself to John Gibbons, the straight-shooting Texan with so much more beneath the surface than meets the eye.