Quote:
Originally Posted by actionjackson
For me it reminded me of Shea Hillenbrand with the Blue Jays in 2006. I don't condone managers fighting with their players, but I loved Gibby challenging him to a fight in this instance. Their is no excuse for that, joking or not.
https://www.nytimes.com/2006/07/21/s...ays.ready.html |
Interesting story, thanks for posting it. I decided to do some followup research, as follows:
Two days after being DFA'd by the Jays, Shea Hillenbrand was traded to the Giants. That winter, he signed a one-year contract with the Angels. Apparently a bit short in common sense, he proceeded to burn his bridges there as well, saying, "If I'm not going to play here, give me enough respect to trade me or get rid of me." The Angels cut him as well.
He went to the minor leagues, batting .147 for the Padres AAA team before being released. He moved to the Dodgers farm system, was called up for 20 games at the end of 2007, and that was that for Mr. Hillebrand's MLB career. Washed up and unemployable a year and a half after writing "This is a sinking ship. Play for your paycheck" on the Blue Jays clubhouse whiteboard.
And being challenged by John Gibbons. Mr. Gibbons went on to manage two more seasons with the Jays, was fired after 2008, but was re-hired by them for another six seasons starting in 2013 and ending just this past year. At only age 56 and a seasoned manager who "managed" to eke out a .501 W-L record in 1,582 games with the Blue Jays, I'd say there is a good chance that we will see John Gibbons in a MLB uniform again someday.
He certainly doesn't take any crap from today's prima donna players, that's for sure. Check out the section titled "Controversy with players" in Mr. Gibbons'
Wikipedia article. In every one of those incidents, I would back him up 100%.