{"id":18331,"date":"2019-03-31T00:18:43","date_gmt":"2019-03-31T04:18:43","guid":{"rendered":"lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/\/?p=18331"},"modified":"2019-03-31T00:18:43","modified_gmt":"2019-03-31T04:18:43","slug":"charlie-montoyo-toronto-blue-jays","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/2019\/03\/31\/charlie-montoyo-toronto-blue-jays\/","title":{"rendered":"Charlie Montoyo the Manager the Toronto Blue Jays Deserve"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>On Saturday afternoon before the Toronto Blue Jays third game against the Detroit Tigers, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.baseball-reference.com\/players\/m\/montoch01.shtml?utm_campaign=Linker&amp;utm_source=direct&amp;utm_medium=linker-\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Charlie Montoyo<\/a> was interacting with the fans. From signing autographs to participating in photo shoots, Montoyo was evidently jubilant.<\/p>\n<p>He has every reason to be. The night before, the Blue Jays&#8217; offense finally got going, generating six runs in the team\u2019s first win of the season. After 3,000-plus games in the minor leagues, Montoyo secured his first win as an MLB manager.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;Now I can retire, I have a win at every level,&#8221; <a href=\"https:\/\/www.sportingnews.com\/ca\/mlb\/news\/matt-shoemakers-best-start-two-years-charlie-montoyo-beer-bath-mlb-toronto-blue-jays\/cr50qqcz0of91clwmsli80xam\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">stated Montoyo.\u00a0<\/a><\/p>\n<p>What is normal practice when a historical feat such as this is achieved? The manager gets to keep the game ball and scorecard. Not only did this happen, but the players threw Montoyo a post-game\u00a0celebration for the ages.\u00a0 The manager experienced his first beer shower as a member of the Blue Jays, an encouraging sign that Montoyo has already developed a positive reputation in the locker room.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Shout to my man Charlie on his first win as a manager! <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/BlueJays?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">@BlueJays<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/NlEfjZVcJx\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">pic.twitter.com\/NlEfjZVcJx<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Marcus Stroman (@STR0) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/STR0\/status\/1111815585866760192?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">March 30, 2019<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<h2>Montoyo\u2019s Minor League Experience Made Him Prime Candidate for Blue Jays Managerial Job<\/h2>\n<p>Baseball has been an integral part of Montoyo&#8217;s\u00a0life. While playing baseball at Louisiana Tech University, Montoyo was drafted by the Milwaukee Brewers in the 1986 draft. He quickly became aware of Canadian baseball culture when he was traded to the Montr\u00e9al Expos. Playing in the major leagues, he only recorded two hits and three RBIs. One of those hits came at Olympic Stadium in Montr\u00e9al, taking on the Colorado Rockies.<\/p>\n<p>Called in to pinch hit, Montoyo gott the critical RBI-single off left-hander <a href=\"https:\/\/www.baseball-reference.com\/players\/w\/waynega01.shtml?utm_campaign=Linker&amp;utm_source=direct&amp;utm_medium=linker-\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Gary Wayne<\/a>, giving the Expos the 4-3 victory.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;I\u2019m never going to forget having my first hit of two here,&#8221; <a href=\"https:\/\/www.sportsnet.ca\/baseball\/mlb\/blue-jays-manager-charlie-montoyo-reminisces-expos-connection-montreal\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Montoyo said.<\/a> &#8220;That\u2019s a memory that I\u2019m always going to have.<\/p>\n<p>After retiring from the game in 1996, Montoyo began a two-decade-long career managing in the minor leagues. Most notably, Montoyo led the Tampa Bay Rays Triple-A affiliate Durham Bulls to elaborate success. In seven seasons with the Bulls, Montoyo put together a unit that only had one losing season. He won Manager of the Year twice, as well as winning two International League championships for the Bulls.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cObviously, the success we had on the field was important, but Charlie\u2019s impact transcended wins and losses,\u201d Bulls general manager Mike Birling\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/DurhamBulls\/status\/1055550207679705094\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">said<\/a>. \u201cHe is a part of our Bulls family and we are so proud today.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The Toronto Blue Jays were at a critical juncture. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.baseball-reference.com\/players\/g\/gibbojo02.shtml?utm_campaign=Linker&amp;utm_source=direct&amp;utm_medium=linker-\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">John Gibbons<\/a> had resigned and the team was looking for a different direction at manager. Montoyo seemed a perfect choice. His blend of analytics knowledge, while creating the environment for players to succeed, made him the perfect candidate to transition to the major leagues.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;Charlie is passionate about the game, with a superior ability to connect and relate,&#8221; <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bluebirdbanter.com\/2018\/10\/30\/18024986\/toronto-blue-jays-who-is-charlie-montoyo\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">says Blue Jays GM Ross Atkins.<\/a> &#8220;We are super lucky to have him.&#8221;<\/p>\n<h2>Montoyo Optimistic about Future of Blue Jays<\/h2>\n<p>Montoyo\u2019s first two wins as the Blue Jays manager have been defined by the team\u2019s dominant pitching. On Friday, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.baseball-reference.com\/players\/s\/shoemma01.shtml?utm_campaign=Linker&amp;utm_source=direct&amp;utm_medium=linker-\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Matt Shoemaker<\/a>, after battling several illnesses, got his first win of the season, going seven scoreless innings with seven strikeouts.<\/p>\n<p>Saturday\u2019s game was no different for <a href=\"https:\/\/www.baseball-reference.com\/players\/s\/sanchaa01.shtml?utm_campaign=Linker&amp;utm_source=direct&amp;utm_medium=linker-\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Aaron Sanchez<\/a>\u00a0in his first game back after an injury-plagued 2018 season. Sanchez went five innings, and in four of them, he got out of jams with runners in scoring position.<\/p>\n<p>&#8221;Sanchez was outstanding,&#8221; <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cbssports.com\/mlb\/gametracker\/recap\/MLB_20190330_DET@TOR\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Montoyo said.<\/a> &#8221;He was in control the whole time.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Sanchez, a career 3.44 ERA pitcher, is eager to get back to the form of 2016, where he went 15-2 with an AL-leading 3.00 ERA.<\/p>\n<p>&#8221;I was just trying to match what the other two guys did the two days before me,&#8221; <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cbssports.com\/mlb\/gametracker\/recap\/MLB_20190330_DET@TOR\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Sanchez said.<\/a><\/p>\n<p>The season is in its early days. Players have not yet seen the Charlie Montoyo\u00a0who gets after them for not performing. While the honeymoon phase won&#8217;t last forever, it is evident that Montoyo wants to build deep connections with his players. Despite this team being labeled as an organization &#8220;undergoing a rebuild,&#8221; Montoyo is unwavering in his mission to make the product on the field better every day.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;I&#8217;m very happy to be here, and I&#8217;m not taking any minute for granted. (I&#8217;m) thankful, grateful, I&#8217;m going to give you all I got, that&#8217;s all I know,&#8221; <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cbc.ca\/sports\/baseball\/mlb\/jays-charlie-montoyo-plans-to-enjoy-his-managerial-debut-1.5074440\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">says Montoyo.\u00a0<\/a><\/p>\n<p>Main Photo<br \/>\n<a id=\"X4B3RI9rQQFQDSWp4m72Fg\" class=\"gie-single\" style=\"color: #a7a7a7; text-decoration: none; font-weight: normal !important; border: none; display: inline-block;\" href=\"http:\/\/www.gettyimages.com\/detail\/1139038471\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Embed from Getty Images<\/a><script>window.gie=window.gie||function(c){(gie.q=gie.q||[]).push(c)};gie(function(){gie.widgets.load({id:'X4B3RI9rQQFQDSWp4m72Fg',sig:'IVEDQvVgrQ74v8lntzqKjPsGrgoO7jNIcQMTZdtYKdQ=',w:'594px',h:'405px',items:'1139038471',caption: true ,tld:'com',is360: false })});<\/script><script src='\/\/embed-cdn.gettyimages.com\/widgets.js' charset='utf-8' async><\/script><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>On Saturday afternoon before the Toronto Blue Jays third game against the Detroit Tigers, Charlie Montoyo was interacting with the fans. From signing autographs to participating in photo shoots, Montoyo was evidently jubilant. He has every reason to be. The night before, the Blue Jays&#8217; offense finally got going, generating six runs in the team\u2019s [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2640,"featured_media":18335,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"1","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"710","footnotes":""},"categories":[1071,2,7],"tags":[242,68,2463,69,566,36],"class_list":["post-18331","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-mlb","category-featured","category-bluejays","tag-aaron-sanchez","tag-baseball","tag-charlie-montoyo","tag-mlb","tag-tampa-bay-rays","tag-toronto-blue-jays"],"modified_by":"Evan Thompson","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18331","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2640"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=18331"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18331\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/18335"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=18331"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=18331"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=18331"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}