The man who deserved a shot a long time ago
In 1997 I had just turned 15 years old, and like any kid with a passion for the game of baseball I thought I knew enough. Not everything, just enough. Like any walk of life you find out that when you get older you grow wiser and I found out I was just a kid with a lot of heart - but I didn’t know enough. Otherwise I would have given this baseball manager the benefit of the doubt when he was fired that very same year.
11 years rolled by and not a single team lined up to hire a two-time World Series championship coach. He wasn’t first on anyone’s list. However, teams lined up to hire never-will-be’s like Davey Lopez, Phil Garner, Gene Lamont or Don Baylor. I could have put together a list of coaches who’s records were better than the names mentioned above and they still would not have the resume this man had/has. Aside from current coaches like Joe Torre, Tony LaRussa and Terry Francona, not one has as many or more championships as this man. Not Lou Pinella, not Jim Leyland and not Bobby Cox. In fact, this guy was this year’s desperate hire to save the General Manager’s job and it looks like he has done just that.
That man is Cito Gaston, the first - and only - black manager to win a World Series. Not that race even matters in this case because winning a championship is a difficult task. Ask Cox or Mike Hargrove.
Cito Gaston was not only a sentimental choice in Toronto but a man who’s track record deserved more than just minor consideration for a Manager’s job. Granted, he was holding out for the right position and when you do that it cuts your possibilities down, but how does he get passed over? How does Cleveland not hire him after Hargrove? What about Seattle after Pinella left? Boston after Jimy Williams? The Dodgers after, well, anyone? Marquee places where Gaston wouldn’t be given a fair shake. The closest he got was the White Sox who hired Ozzie Guillen, who won a World Series himself. If that title was Cito’s we’d be talking about a potential Hall of Fame manager along with about 10 shame-on-you articles from Fox and ESPN asking how he didn’t get his shot sooner.
His hiring was out of desperation from a General Manager who’s held his position 2 years too long and knew the city of Toronto would love him for it. J.P. Ricciardi has saved his job for another year, and if Toronto somehow (and I mean, SOMEHOW) makes the post-season in 2009, Ricciardi will keep his job for another 2 years and will continue to poorly assess talent and damage the farm system.
Take Adam Lind for example; Cito not only wanted him up with the big club, he promised he would play. Lind has responded since going 1 for a million in his first stint this season. This is a guy who’s a 2-time minor league player of the year and the best prospect in the Blue Jays system for years. While he was tearing up the leagues, J.P. refused to bring him up (the last time a guy under 23 has stuck with Toronto was Alex Gonzalez - well before the Riccardi regime. Imagine how he would have held back A-Rod or Pujols if he had them). He didn’t feel Lind was ready, otherwise he would have said bye to Matt Stairs in the off-season and not sign Shannon Stewart after cutting the hard-nosed Reed Johnson due to being over-budget. Cito wanted Lind, and he has been the MVP of the Blue Jays over the last 3 months. Not bad considering the GM wanted him to linger in the minors this season. He hit .273 in the second half last season - he was ready this year and many people in Toronto knew it.
Not a bad call by Cito considering his one knock over a decade ago was how he handled the younger players. Perhaps he could be guilty of loyalty to his veterans like Joe Carter, a Jays icon who only hit one of the biggest homerun in baseball history. Cito was a players manager who was very loyal to his guys. We’ve seen numerous managers do the same thing with little success. But I bet those managers don’t have fans purchasing their replica jersey the way Toronto has with Gaston. Already I have see 4 Gaston jerseys being worn around town. That is how much the city loves Cito.
Although he won’t win the Manager of the year award, he has taken overrated talent (which means lack of talent) and has gotten the most out of it. He’s had his #2 and #3 pitchers out (Shaun Marcum and Dustin McGowan - Marcum has returned), his starting second baseman (Aaron Hill) and his star Centerfielder out (Vernon Wells - returned last week). Yet the team now sits 1 game behind the New York Yankees, who have much more talent than Toronto. The award should go to either Joe Maddon of Tampa or Mike Scoscia of L.A., but the job Cito has done with this team has been outstanding.
It should be noted that neither 1992 or 1993 World Series was a lock for Toronto and nobody should look at those years and think any less of the job Cito did. He won 4 division titles in 5 years and the two years they did not get to the World Series (1989 and 1991) they may not have been the most talented team in the old AL East. Cito should be remembered at the manager who was ahead of his team, and got the job done when several other managers who’ve had a lot of talent could not close the deal. It is a constant reminder that no sport, let alone baseball, should ever pass over a proven winner and 2-time champion the way teams in Major League Baseball passed over Cito Gaston - especially being replaced by a con artist in Tim Johnson.
And I apologize for wanting him out as Manager in the first place. I guess 15 year olds don’t know better.
August 20th, 2008 at 6:05 am
Good stuff Dan!
Didn’t they kick the Braves asses in one of those series? Maybe not, but I’m far to lazy to google it.
I always hated the Braves back in the 90’s, TBS labeled them as “America’s Team” and that’s all you saw on that network. Kind of like Yankees v Red Sox TV (ESpN)
August 20th, 2008 at 9:21 am
Baseball may be the only sport where you can’t necessarily judge a manager’s performance strictly by wins and losses. Look at Jim Leyland in Detroit. He’s an old-school baseball guy that knows his shit, and two years ago he took a very talented team to the World Series. Now, the team has basically the same talent level (maybe even more)…but the Tigers suck donkey dong. It doesn’t mean Jim Leyland is a bad manager, it just means that there is only so much a baseball manager can do.
On the flip side, there are some shitty managers that have successful teams. How about Dusty Baker with the Giants & Cubs? His lineups often didn’t make any sense, and he abused the hell out of his starting pitchers. The crazy bastard thought that Neifi Perez belonged in the leadoff spot.
Cito Gaston is a massive upgrade over angry man John Gibbons. Ultimately, if the talent isn’t there…Gaston won’t automatically make them a winner. But he gives them a much better chance than anyone else. He knows the game, commands the respect of the players…but also does his job working with them as individuals. Glad he’s there instead of Gibbons. It’s assholes like J-Gibb that screw up sports.
August 20th, 2008 at 7:30 pm
Gaston knows his shit, and I’m surprised that he wasn’t hired by another organization. One of the problems with the rise in statistical analysis in baseball is the devaluing of the manager, or the attempt to make the manager an extension of the GM, like in Oakland. However you may view the importance of the manager, there is some importance as far as the role is concerned. I’m glad that the Toronto Ownership (not Riccardi, whom for all intents and purposes wasn’t for the Gaston Hire because of the loss of authority) forced the hiring. It’s a solid move and as a result we’ve seen some improvement, such as the benching of overrated white scrappy guys (I’m looking at you Eckstein), and the rise of Adam Lind, who has proven to be a legitimate major leaguer, if given the chance.
Great article!!!
August 20th, 2008 at 8:10 pm
Miracle - 1992. The Jays blew Game 1 and then Ed Sprague hit the most important home run of the series to win Game 2. And then Devon White made one of the most underrated catches ever as I watched him do it in Game 3. Very good series it was.
Shooter - Leyland has not been the problem in my mind. The Tigers lost 2 starters, 2 top-flight relievers and a veteran blockhead DH for a good chunk of the season. Leyland also hasn’t forced Justin Verlander to waste his talent and throw too many fastballs over the plate. Let’s also remember Magglio was out for 6 weeks too. Not to say that they have been hit with the injury bug but it has been magnified due to pitching meltdowns, poor defense and no clutch performances when they’ve needed it.
As for Gibbons, he was a fiery guy who didn’t put up with shit. But he was JP’s puppet and I don’t know if the tough guy act worked knowing he wasn’t pulling the strings.
Morisato - Cito was Paul Godfrey’s call all the way, the President rather than the owner (Ted Rogers works on the media side of things and not the ballclub that much). He claims JP came up with the idea. Maybe he did, maybe he didn’t. But Cito has freedom to do it his way. He has shown big confidence in Marco Scutaro by hitting him 1st and 2nd (though I don’t like Scutaro, the team’s hitting is so bad that it almost doesn’t matter who’s up there). As for Cito’s managing, he was a master at being a players coach and pushing confidence buttons. Many coaches have come along to attempt the same things without much strategy to their coaching (Bob Brenley and Phil Garner come to mind). But Cito was Joe Torre before Torre started his run with New York. 4 divisions and back-to-back titles in 5 years is as close to Yankees-esque as you can get. It should also be noted that Cito was a fabulous hitting coach from 1982-1989, and again in 2000. If you check Toronto’s 2000 season you’ll see an incredible hitting team. No coincidence.