Blue Jays manager Cito Gaston says his second managerial stint in Toronto has been rewarding, especially when it was something he didn't expect to happen.
"It feels great, this is like my second home here," Gaston told CTV's Canada AM in a recent interview, marking the first anniversary of his return as manager of the team he once led to back-to-back World Series wins.
"I love the city, I lived here for 20 years. I love the people here, I love the fans and to be back as manager is something that you don't expect, but, it's nice to be back."
More than four decades after his start in professional baseball, the 65-year-old Gaston said he enjoys the friendships he has built over the years and still has a love for the game.
"There's a lot of great things about this game people don't know about, and that's meeting a lot of great people, a lot of nice people, doing a lot of travelling," he said.
"But the love of the game is the reason I'm back."
Gaston returned to manage the Blue Jays on June 20 of last year, when former manager John Gibbons was let go by the team.
When Gaston took the reins of the team last year, Toronto had fallen to 14 games below the .500 mark. By the end of the season, the Blue Jays had won ten 10 games more than they lost.
Gaston first served as manager during the Blue Jays' glory years, when they won four American League East titles and two World Series Championships from 1989 to 1993.
As of Thursday morning, Gaston has led the 2009 Blue Jays squad to a 37-31 record, sitting in third place behind the Boston Red Sox and New York Yankees, respectively.
Looking back, Gaston said he appreciates the success of the World Series teams today more than ever.
"It feels probably better than it did back then," he said. "The more that you think back about it, the more you enjoy it. Because things are moving so fast when that's happening, sometimes you don't have a chance to enjoy it."
