Former Blue Jays manager Cito Gaston to be honoured by the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum

In his first year as manager, the Blue Jays would go on to finish with a 77-49 record under Gaston (89-73 total record), making the ALCS before eventually falling to the Oakland Athletics, who won the World Series that season. Following an 86-76 season in 1990, the Jays returned to the top of the division from 1991 through 1993.

In 1992, Gaston managed the Jays to a World Series championship, the first in the organization’s history. He became the first African-American manager to win a World Series and the first manager to win a World Series with a team located outside the United States. Gaston would lead the Blue Jays back to the World Series in 1993, with Joe Carter notching his famous ‘touch ’em all Joe’ walk-off home run off of Phillies reliever Mitch Williams to secure the back-to-back titles.

Gaston would manage the Jays until 1997 before being fired by general manager Gord Ash, finishing with a 683-636 record. He would later rejoin the team as a hitting coach in 1999 under manager Buck Martinez, before transitioning into a new role in 2002 as a special assistant to President and CEO Paul Godfrey.

The Texas product would don his managerial cap again in 2008, taking over for John Gibbons midway through the campaign for his second stint as manager. He would manage the Jays through the 2010 season before retiring, compiling a 211-201 record during his second stint. Overall, he would finish with a 894-837 record as the Jays skipper.

Gaston’s accomplishments with the Blue Jays organization are widely documented. He managed the AL squad at the 1993 and 1994 All-Star games, was elected to the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame in 2002, inducted into the Ontario Sports Hall of Fame in 2011, and was named to the organization’s Level of Excellence in 1999. He was also listed on the 2023 Baseball Hall of Fame Contemporary Baseball Era ballot but fell just short of the needed 75% mark.

On the franchise leaderboards, Gaston sits atop when it comes to the most wins (894) and the most games managed (1731).

Established in 2014, the Hall of Game honours former players who embodied the spirit and style of the Negro Leagues. The ceremony is set to take place on Saturday, October 4th, at the Sheraton Kansas City Hotel at Crown Center.