Blue Jays: Knowing that it’s coming doesn’t make it any easier

Even though we knew that change was coming for the Blue Jays, and even specifically in the manager’s seat, it doesn’t make it easier to say goodbye to fan favourite players, or to a manager like John Gibbons.

I’ve had a lot of discussions and even arguments with fellow Blue Jays fans over the last few years, and John Gibbons may have been the most frequent topic of disagreement. Some fans have adored his casual approach to the dugout and the game in general, while others have found it maddening.

Regardless of where you stand on the charismatic skipper, he’s not going to be holding the reigns for the Blue Jays for much longer. It was formally announced on Wednesday that Gibbons would not be returning next year, a decision that came to pretty much no one’s surprise.

Gibbons himself had even indicated that he wasn’t sure he had the patience to go through a rebuild, and that he understands that change happens in baseball all the time. After two consecutive losing seasons and a significant roster turnover, the timing makes all the sense in the world.

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We could have said the same for the departures of other loveable Blue Jays like Edwin Encarnacion after the 2016 season, Jose Bautista last year, and Josh Donaldson‘s trade in July. Each case was a little different, but in hindsight it’s probably a very good thing that the Blue Jays didn’t lock up any of the three former sluggers, or they would have another expensive contract to join Troy Tulowitzki‘s and Russell Martin‘s in a rebuild.

Still, even knowing and understanding the rationale for the decisions made doesn’t make things any easier for many fans of the team. I still loathe the sight of Encarnacion in a Cleveland jersey, walking his parrot around the bases after a home run. It doesn’t make it any easier to watch Donaldson join him either.

Hearing Gibby say that he could be interested in managing another big league team also made me cringe, even if there’s a huge part of me that would love to see him get the opportunity. I felt the same way when Alex Anthopoulos left for L.A. and eventually landed in Atlanta, and while I’m happy for him that he’s been successful in his newest post, it admittedly grinds my gears a little bit that it’s not happening in Toronto.

It’s not as if I’m worried we’re going to watch Gibbons go on to win a World Series ring with another team, and in fact I hope I’ll be among the first to cheer if it ever does happen. It’s more about what feels like the final chapter in a great book in Blue Jays history. You could argue that it was over after Bautista left, or even after the trade of Donaldson, but to me today is the last day of this generation of the team. The captain has gracefully gone down with the ship, and this part of the franchise history story has concluded. And unfortunately that book will not include a championship for the second best manager in Blue Jays history.

I understand why it makes sense for the divorce for Gibbons and the Blue Jays, and even support it, but I’ll admittedly miss a familiar face in the dugout on a near nightly basis. It was obvious how much his players respect him by the way they treated him after Wednesday’s game, and you can bet the organization will go out of their way to shower praises on their ol’ Texan skipper as he rounds out a job well done with one last trip to Tampa.

We may all have known it was coming, but for most of us that doesn’t make it any easier. While the future is bright and exciting for the Blue Jays’ organization, it’s never easy saying farewell to beloved figure like Gibby.