While he was a former 1st round draft pick back in the 1980 draft, John Gibbons made a name for himself as a manager/coach.

Ironically, his first coaching gig was with the Mets, as well. Ten years after being drafted by the Metropolitans, Gibbons got his first taste of coaching during the 1990 campaign.

However, he’s undoubtedly known for his stints with the Toronto Blue Jays when he was manager. He first had a four year run from 2004-2008, before he was fired in the middle of the 08’ season.

The Jays would eventually bring him back in 2013 for six years, making the playoffs in 2015 and 2016. He took the team as far American League Championship Series during both of those seasons.

Unfortunately, the next two years weren’t as successful as they couldn’t make it back to the playoffs, or past .500 for that matter.

Toronto would go in a different direction in 2019, hiring Charlie Montoyo, leaving Gibbons without a job.

While he hasn’t gotten any offers to manage, his name has come up over the years in different scenarios across the league.

I’m guessing Gibbons wants to manage again, but is taking a bench coach job to prove himself. This is not new to Gibbons, in fact, it’s the same tactics he used after catching the axe from Toronto the first time.

Before being re-hired by the Blue Jays in 2013, Gibbons accepted a position as bench coach with the Kansas City Royals.

Gibbons’ experience will be huge as the Mets look to Carlos Mendoza, a first time manager, to take the team back to the playoffs.

In other coaching news, the Mets have also added Antoan Richardson to their staff, taking over as first base coach. Richardson was formerly working under Gabe Kapler in San Francisco, in that same role for the previous four years.