Gibbons proud of season despite postseason exit

With just minutes to digest a disappointing postseason exit, Toronto Blue Jays manager John Gibbons gave plenty of reasons to be optimistic.

"I'm definitely proud of our team and the organization," Gibbons said following his team's 4-3 loss to the Kansas City Royals in Game 6 of the ALCS. "They laid it out every day, great competitors. It doesn't matter what the score, they show up to play every day. And a fun bunch, fun group to be around every day. And I tip my hat to them."

The Blue Jays sat one-game under .500 on July 28, the day general manager Alex Anthopoulos acquired All-Star shortstop Troy Tulowitzki from the Colorado Rockies. Anthopoulos continued to rework his roster in the coming days, adding key acquisitions David Price and Ben Revere.

Toronto would respond by going 40-18 to finish the season, winning the division and advancing to the postseason for the first time since 1993.

"These last couple of months they flew by and we played such good baseball, better than you normally see for a stretch," Gibbons said. "We're all disappointed we're not moving on. That's baseball. We put up our best fight today. And they've got a great team over there, and they'll represent the American League really well."