Bob Kronbauer: John Gibbons sold his World Series ring

Most Canadians know John Gibbons (Gibby) as the fiery and lovable former manager of the Toronto Blue Jays, but few remember that he won a World Series ring, when he was a catcher for the 1986 New York Mets.

I had the great pleasure of meeting the man at Nat Bailey Stadium during the latest Toyota Superstar Series put on by the Vancouver Canadians.

Each season the series brings in a few all-time greats to our local shrine to baseball, where they’re set up at a table out front at first, then later inside the concourse, signing memorabilia and chatting with fans.

Opting to stand in line as opposed to using the privilege afforded to me by my Media Credentials to skip said line, I waited like the rest of the fans, eagerly turning a ball I had caught earlier in the day at batting practice in my sweaty little hands.

When it came to my turn to chat with Gibby I passed him the ball and asked him why he wasn’t wearing his World Series ring.

Clearly surprised to be presented with this question, he looked confused, then exclaimed “That thing? We all sold ’em!” with a laugh.

We then posed for the photo you see here and went our separate ways, much like Gibby and his ring.

There are only 17 home games left in the Vancouver Canadians 2023 season, and just one of those will be Superstar Series nights.

On August 22, six-time All-star Ron Cey will be on-hand to sign your stuff, and maybe tell you what happened to his 1981 World Series ring!

Single-game tickets are still available but it’s likely to sell out, so if you’re interested you’re gonna want to buy them now.