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The Weyburn Beavers will be holding their sports dinner Friday night, and this year, the guest speaker will be John Gibbons, the former manager of the Toronto Blue Jays, and self-described baseball lifer. Gibbons had been the guest for the sports dinner previously in 2020 when it was held virtually due to the COVID-19 pandemic. This time, he will be making the trip to Weyburn to make his appearance in person.
“I’m looking forward to it,” Gibbons told Discover Weyburn. “You think about it, we’ve come a long way since back then, through those crazy times, and it’s like it’s almost surreal, so now I’ll come out there and show up in person. It’ll be a lot of fun.”
Since the 2020 virtual sports dinner, Gibbons has finished a book and has started a podcast.
“I never thought I’d write a book when I was leaving my last day, the home game in 2018,” Gibbons said. “Three or four writers asked me ‘If you ever write a book, I want to write it’, and I kind of laughed it off. I had no interest.”
A few years later, he had a friend with a publishing company in Toronto reach out, and then things were put into motion to publish Gibby. From there, work started on the podcast, which is based around the Toronto Blue Jays both past and present.
As for what fans can expect during the sports dinner Friday night, Gibbons said it will be an entertaining evening.
“It’s gonna be like a question and answer, one of the sit-down things,” Gibbons explained. “I’m not a big guy who gets up there, just gives speeches.” He added there will be a number of stories he will share during the question and answer session, and there will also be a chance for the fans in attendance to ask some questions as well.
“I’ve been so lucky, so fortunate, that I’ve had such a good reception from the fans up in Canada.”
Tickets for the Sports Dinner are still available. You can get tickets by emailing the Weyburn Beavers at weyburnbeaverswmbl@gmail.com, through social media or by contacting a board member.
You can listen to the complete interview with Gibbons below: