Toronto Blue Jays manager John Gibbons is going to bat for his guys.
In the first inning of Toronto’s 3-1 victory over the Tampa Bay Rays on Sunday, Rays starter Chris Archer threw the first pitch of an at-bat behind Jays slugger Jose Bautista, prompting a tense staredown between the two and a warning from home plate umpire Jim Wolf.
After the game, Gibbons called for Archer to be suspended for the incident.
“My issue, I would expect there to be some kind of suspension,” said Gibbons, according to Gregor Chisholm of MLB.com. “The way they handle things now, the [Manny] Machado thing the other day, the ball was thrown behind him. Now, if the umpire had not issued a warning, okay maybe he didn’t think something was wrong. Since he issued a warning, maybe he [thought] ‘Ahh, something’s not right here.’
“If the umpire thinks something was issued for a reason, maybe he thought there was some intent and that’s why I would imagine the league would step up like they do most of the time,” he continued. “I would be disappointed if they didn’t. They want to maintain that, whatever the word is, continuity.”
You can see the Manny Machado incident from last weekend that Gibbons was referring to here. Gibbons, who is in his second stint and tenth overall season managing the Blue Jays, is a skipper who has never been afraid to challenge his own players. But as he proved on Sunday, Gibbons will be just as quick to show them that he always has their backs.
