For Jay Gibbons, Forgiveness Is a Minor League Contract Away

Jay Gibbons dropped to his knees and asked for a second chance.

After being named in the Mitchell Report and being released from the Baltimore Orioles by COO Andy MacPhail for reasons disclosed as performance-related, Gibbons did something he termed, “both painful and humiliating.” The designated hitter wrote a letter to all thirty Major League teams hoping that someone, anyone would give him a chance to ride the buses of the Minor Leagues.

It’s a move of passion not economics.

Because the Baltimore Orioles still owe him $11.9 million over the next two years, presumably, Gibbons could easily thrust his head into the sand, like the higher profile PED user Mark McGwire, and be comfortable in his anonymity for the rest of his life.

Gibbons even offered to donate his entire Minor League salary to his parent team’s charity. Should he make it to the Big Leagues, he writes that he would “gladly donate a significant sum to that same charity.”

While several teams sent a reply to the lefty wishing him the best, no one sent him a contract. Forced to look elsewhere, Gibbons signed with the independent Atlantic League, a haven for former Major Leaguers—such as Carl Everett—looking to make a comeback.

The question remains why no team has decided to add him to a Minor League roster. The man has proved that he has been able to hit in the Major Leagues by clubbing over twenty home runs in each of the three seasons in which he played more than 100 games. While some will say that those numbers are juiced, with this year’s offensive numbers deflated, it appears so were the rest of the league’s. This man deserves a second chance.

Named in the Mitchell Report, Jack Cust has a similar but less spectacular career than Gibbons and is only two years younger. While Gibbons will play against has-beens and never-will-bes, the Oakland Athletics outfielder plays against the best in the world.

Perhaps because we see our own imperfections all too often, people identify with a flawed hero. 

A man who can resurrect his career in the face of adversity imbues energy into a team and a fan base. St. Louis Cardinals center fielder Rick Ankiel lost the strike zone as a pitcher, came back as an outfielder, admitted HGH use, and now appears nightly on SportsCenter as his team stays within sniffing distance of the Cubs in the NL Central.

Like most players who have been linked to PEDs, Gibbons has apologized. However, none of the rest has expressed as great a desire to play.

Based on the actions of fans who threw syringes at Barry Bonds’ feet and heckle Texas Rangers outfielder Josh Hamilton for being a former street drug addict, Gibbons knows that he will be the object of ridicule even as he plays in front of the small crowds in the Atlantic League.

After doing the wrong thing, he has said all the right things. Now, he embarks on a rough road, proving physically and morally that he is worth a shot, not the product of one.