Cito gaston biography for kids

American baseball player and manager (born 1944)

Baseball player

Clarence Edwin "Cito" Gaston (; born March 17, 1944) is an American former Major League Baseballoutfielder, coach and manager. His major league career as a player lasted from 1967 to 1978, most notably with the San Diego Padres and Atlanta Braves. He spent his entire managerial career with the Toronto Blue Jays, becoming the first African-American manager in Major League Baseball history to win a World Series title.

Gaston managed the Toronto Blue Jays from 1989 to 1997, then again from 2008 to 2010. During this time, he managed the Blue Jays to four American League East division titles (1989, 1991, 1992 and 1993), two American League pennants (1992 and 1993) and two World Series titles (1992 and 1993).

Personal life

Gaston grew up in San Antonio and Corpus Christi, Texas, where his father was a semi-truck driver. His career ambitions were either to be a truck driver like his father, or make it into the Major Leagues. He adopted his nickname 'Cito' in preference to his given name 'Clarence'. Gaston later told Toronto Blue Jays broadcasters the name was taken from a Mexican-American wrestler he watched as a young man in Texas. Other reports state Gaston was given this nickname from a friend named Carlos Thompson who thought Gaston resembled a well known Mexican wrestler named "Cito".

As a p

Clarence “Cito” Gaston was a National League outfielder from 1967 to 1978. At his best, he was an All-Star in 1970. He also made a vivid impression on the fans in Venezuela, where he won two batting titles in winter ball. However, Gaston attained much greater fame and respect as a manager. He became the first African-American skipper to lead his team to the playoffs and then to win a World Series. His Toronto Blue Jays won back-to-back championships in 1992 and 1993. “Cerebral, dignified, and tolerant” describe this imposing man’s best qualities as a leader.1

Clarence Edwin Gaston was born in San Antonio, Texas, on March 17, 1944.2 His parents were Sammy Gaston and Gertrude Coley.3 Gaston spent his early years in the small city of Seguin, Texas, about 36 miles northeast of San Antonio, and at least one story states that he was born there rather than in San Antonio, his generally accepted birthplace.4 Clarence had five sisters. Cito’s friend of nearly five decades, Johnny Cardona Sr., said that Gertrude was remarried, to a man named Collins, when her son was young. Cardona recalled that Sammy moved to Oklahoma.

It’s quite possible that Gaston inherited some of his ability. Negro Leagues legend Ted “Double Duty” Radcliffe, from Mobile, Alabama, which has a long record as a hotbed of black baseball talent, said in his biography:

“You know who else lived in our neighborhood? Cito Gaston’s daddy. We used to call him ‘Big Boy’ ’cause he was a big heavyset fella — he could hit!”5

Radcliffe’s collaborator, author Kyle McNary, states in another of his books that Gaston’s father was a Negro Leaguer.6 However, references for the “major” Negro Leagues do not show either a Gaston or a Collins who fits the bill. Whichever man it might have been, his experience may have come in a local circuit, the South Texas Negro League.

Cito was raised by a truck

Clarence Edwin “Cito” Gaston is a baseball manager, coach, and outfielder. He became the first African American baseball manager to win the World Series when the Toronto Blue Jays won in 1992.

Clarence Gaston was born to Sammy Gaston and Gertrude Coley on March 17, 1944, in San Antonio, Texas. Gaston’s adoption of the nickname “Cito” was often disputed growing up. He claims he adopted the name from a Mexican-American wrestler he watched when he was young. Another claim was that he adopted the name from a friend, Carlos Thompson, who thought he resembled a Cito wrestler. Gaston attended Wheatley High School in San Antonio, Texas, for a year, then transferred to Holy Cross High School and Solomon-Coles High School in Corpus Christi, Texas. Gaston graduated from Solomon-Coles High School in 1962.

After graduating, Gaston played semi-professional baseball in local leagues from 1962 to 1964. In 1964, Gaston was spotted by a scout from the then-Milwaukee Braves at a game and immediately signed him. Gaston would make his Major League Baseball debut in 1967 with the now-Atlanta Braves for a season. Gaston signed with the San Diego Padres in an expansion draft the following season and started playing with the team in 1969. Gaston’s best season with the team came in 1970 when he was selected for his first and only MLB All-Star game. He would remain with the Padres until the 1974 season. Gaston signed with the Braves for a second time the following season and remained with them until the 1978 season. He would then play with the Pittsburgh Pirates for part of the 1978 season and retire at the end of the season at the age of 34.

In 1982, Gaston became the hitting coach for the Toronto Blue Jays. With Gaston as one of the coaches, the team won its first division title in 1985. He remained a coach until the 1989 season when he became manager of the team. Under Gaston’s management, the Blue Jays became a significant World Series contender. During