Toronto Blue Jays manager Cito Gaston tipped his hat to an adoring crowd that cheered his final appearance at the Rogers Centre Wednesday night during a 30-minute pregame ceremony.
"I want to thank you fans for the memories, for without you, there would be no memories," he said before his team took the field against the New York Yankees, who joined the standing ovation from their dugout.
The Jays beat the Yankees 8-4.
Gaston will end his career with the Jays at the end of the season. The game wasthe team's last home performance of the season. A four-game series in Minnesota will finish the season that sees the Blue Jays missing the playoffs.
"I want you to remember, we need you again," Gaston said. "We need to come out and support this team, and put this team back where it used to be."
Gaston has managed 1,726 games dating back to his first season with the Jays in 1989. He has led the team to a 890-836 record over 13 seasons.
The 66-year-old led the team to back-to-back World Series Championships in 1992 and 1993 during his first stint behind the bench.
Several players from the glory years were in attendance at Wednesday's game, including George Bell, Pat Hentgen, Joe Carter and Devon White. Roberto Alomar, Paul Molitor and Dave Winfield paid their respects through a tribute video. The club gave Gaston for airplane tickets for any destination in the world.
"He rocks the moustache better than anyone I've seen," said outfielder Vernon Wells, whose father Vernon Sr. painted a tribute portrait of Gaston.
Many Jays took to the field with moustaches painted on their upper lips as a show of affection.
Gaston left the club in 1997 in a major housecleaning.
In 2008, he returned to the position as the franchise floundered, crying out for an injection of team pride. He will be working with the club as an adviser in the coming years.
In an open letter printed in Wednesday's Toronto Star, Gaston thanked Jays fans for their support over the years.
"You have been great to me here, and I will always appreciate your support and will always thank you," he wrote. "Without the fans we wouldn't have been able to accomplish what we did. Many of you have become my friends."
Gaston has said he thinks it is best for the ball club to find someone who is ready to lead the team for several years.
Gaston was ejected in his penultimate home appearance on Tuesday after arguing with home plate umpire Mark Carlson in the sixth inning of a 6-1 loss to the Yankees.
With a report from CTV Toronto's Natalie Johnston and files from The Canadian Press
