On this date in baseball history, May 15, 1989, the Toronto Blue Jays fired their manager, Jimy “One M” Williams, replacing him with hitting coach Cito Gaston.
You might recall that the 1989 Toronto Blue Jays were 12-24 at the time of Williams’ firing. That didn’t put them in last place, because the Detroit Tigers were in the division, and they were awful, but it put them pretty close.
You might also recall that the Blue Jays won the 1989 AL East title by going 77-49 the rest of the way. Sure, they got thumped by Jose Canseco and the Oakland A’s in the ALCS, but just getting there was impressive after a start like that.
Ol’ Jimy One M went on to a pretty successful career as a coach and manager in the majors. Although he was also fired mid-season by the other two teams he managed, the Boston Red Sox (2001), and the Houston Astros (2004), his career record as a manager is 910-790, a .535 winning percentage.
He did win the 1999 AL Manager of the Year award with Boston, and was the bench coach for the Philadelphia Phillies when they won the World Series in 2008.
No explanation has ever been given for why he only had one “m” in his first name.
Uh-Oh, Rexy 