Cito Gaston

Cito Gaston
Biographical information
Full Name	Clarence Edwin Gaston
Nickname(s)	Cito
Born	March 17, 1944
Birthplace	San Antonio, TX, USA
Physical description
Height	6'4"
Weight	210 lbs
Bats	Right
Throws	Right
Hair color	black
Eye color	brown
Skin color	African American
Professional information
MLB Debut	September 14, 1967
Years with Jays	17

[Source]

Biography

Cito Gaston was the first African-American manager to lead his team to a World Series victory, when he managed the Toronto Blue Jays in 1992, defeating the Atlanta Braves. He repeated the feat with the Jays in 1993, when the Blue Jays prevailed over the Philadelphia Phillies, becoming the first manager since Sparky Anderson to win back to back World Series titles. Gaston was also the Blue Jays hitting coach from 1982 through 1989 and again from 2000 to 2001.

When Gaston first took over for Jimy Williams as manager of the Blue Jays in 1989, the club had been badly unerperforming, mired in last place with a 12-24 record. He turned things around, leading the team to a tremendous comeback in which they passed the surprising division-leading Baltimore Orioles on the season's last week-end to clinch the AL East title. They lost to the Oakland Athletics in the ALCS when Rickey Henderson put in a performance for the ages. The Blue Jays won another division title in 1991; Gaston missed a month of play at the end of the season, when he had to have back surgery; hitting coach Gene Tenace replaced him and kept the team on track. However, they were defeated by the Minnesota Twins in the ALCS.

Gaston failed to find another managerial job after his first stint at the helm of the Blue Jays, something many observers found surprising giving his history of post-season success, while many managers with mediocre winning records were retreaded from team to team. He had to wait for his old team to fall into a serious crisis to receive another chance; on June 20, 2008 he was again named manager of the Toronto Blue Jays, replacing John Gibbons who was fired after the team had compiled a 4-13 record over their past 17 games and dropped to last place in the AL East. He brought in three veteran coaches to assist him, Dwayne Murphy, Nick Leyva and Gene Tenace, to replace Gary Denbo, Marty Pevey and Ernie Whitt, who had been fired alongside Gibbons; Leyva and Tenace had served as coaches for him in his first incarnation as Blue Jay manager.

Statistics

Cito Gaston’s Managerial Record for the Jays Year Age Games Won Lost Pct. Finish Titles 1989 45 126 77 49 .611 1st AL East 1990 46 162 86 76 .531 2nd - 1991 47 129 72 57 .558 1st AL East 1992 48 162 96 66 .593 1st ALCS, WS 1993 49 162 95 67 .586 1st ALCS, WS 1994 50 115 55 60 .478 3rd - 1995 51 144 56 88 .389 5th - 1996 52 162 74 88 .457 4th - 1997 53 157 72 85 .459 5th - 2008 64 88 51 37 .580 4th -

Totals Years Games Won Lost Pct. Titles 10 1407 734 673 .522 AL East (x4), ALCS (x2), WS (x2)

Preceded by Bobby Doerr

Blue Jays Hitting Instructor 1982-1989

Succeeded by Gene Tenace

Preceded by Gary Matthews

Blue Jays Hitting Instructor 2000-2001

Succeeded by Mike Barnett

Preceded by Jimy Williams

Blue Jays Manager 1989-1997

Succeeded by Mel Queen

Preceded by John Gibbons

Blue Jays Manager 2008

Succeeded by Current