September 26, 2018
TORONTO -- One of the worst-kept secrets in all of baseball was made official on Wednesday afternoon, when the Blue Jays and manager John Gibbons announced they will be parting ways at the end of the season.
In an unusual move for a departing manager, Gibbons held a joint news conference with general manager Ross Atkins to break the news that had been circulating for the past couple of months. The separation that seemed inevitable for so long finally became a reality.
This wasn't really a firing and it wasn't really a resignation. Instead it was two sides that realized a change of scenery was best for everyone involved. That's pretty uncommon in the modern age of professional sports, but it also seems fitting for a guy who garnered a reputation of being an old-school manager.