TORONTO – To a certain degree the Toronto Blue Jays were hiring for organization in choosing their new manager, and the way the Tampa Bay Rays use information to their advantage in every realm of their operations carried a specific appeal. The game has changed, data-driven decision-making is becoming as inherent to dugouts as it is to front offices and in an American-League East featuring the dominant Boston Red Sox and built-to-last New York Yankees, not to mention the ever-forward-thinking Rays, every possible ounce of margin is needed.
Charlie Montoyo, named the Blue Jays’ 13th manager Thursday, will help on that front, having spent his entire coaching career in the Rays system, the past four years on the big-league staff of Kevin Cash. But at 53 years old, having managed at every level of the farm system, the native of Florida, Puerto Rico also possesses some of the human touch that left with the beloved John Gibbons. Consider the words of a rival executive, who in an unsolicited text described Montoyo as one of those people “so respected and loved that the outpouring of happiness for them, when these opportunities come, is overwhelming.”
Or Cliff Floyd, who played with Montoyo in the Montreal Expos system:
Toronto got themselves a great man!!he loves the game he works hard and I remember his knowledge of the game when we played together!!Great hire
— cliff floyd (@CliffFloyd30) October 25, 2018
Or Burton Rocks, Montoyo’s agent, who described his client as a “family man whose quantified intangibles (based on an analytic Rocks created and trademarked) have inspired others.” Along with the countless other words of praise offered his way, you get the sense of a man who can bring people together the way Gibbons did so well.
“Charlie is a highly regarded leader by so many individuals in the game and we were thoroughly impressed by his experiences and approach as we learned more about him during the interview process,” GM Ross Atkins said in a release from the team. “Charlie is passionate about the game with a superior ability to connect and relate and we are confident he will have an overwhelmingly positive influence on Blue Jays players and staff.”
Intriguingly the decision, perhaps the most important made so far in Atkins’ three years as GM, came on the same day Rocco Baldelli, another Rays finalist for the Blue Jays job, was hired by the Minnesota Twins to replace the fired Paul Molitor. David Bell, named manager Sunday by the Cincinnati Reds, Chicago Cubs bench coach Brandon Hyde, and Houston Astros bench coach Joe Espada were the club’s other known finalists, each of them in their 40s, with Baldelli the youngest of the group at 37.
Montoyo, who was given a three-year contract with a club option for 2022, is the oldest of the bunch and on the surface that seems counterintuitive after the Blue Jays turned over their core with plans to give their young players opportunity in the coming seasons.
But Atkins repeatedly talked about how he valued Gibbons’ experience toward the end of the season and noted in his post-season wrap how his eventual hire “will have experience leading, that is something extremely important for us.”
Earlier this week, Hall of Fame general manager Pat Gillick, in town for a dinner celebrating the 25th anniversary of the Blue Jays’ consecutive World Series titles, said his lean was always for an older manager during a rebuild. “You can preach development, but (young managers) know they have to win to stay on,” he said. “That’s why I think older guys that have been through the wars a little bit, they handle a rebuild better than younger people.”
Montoyo will certainly get tested on that front, and he gives the Blue Jays a bilingual voice at the helm at a time when young Latino players like Vladimir Guerrero Jr., and Lourdes Gurriel Jr., are on the verge of becoming key parts of the franchise.
His potential impact on the younger Guerrero in some ways gives him a chance to bring his career full circle. During the final season of his 10-year pro career, Montoyo served as “as a de facto playing coach/guardian/interpreter” for the senior Guerrero at double-A Harrisburg, Sportsnet colleague Jeff Blair wrote in a 1996 article for the Montreal Gazette.
A sixth-round pick by the Milwaukee Brewers in 1987, the infielder appeared in four games for the Expos during the 1993 season, his only touch of the big-leagues as a player. He joined the Rays immediately after the ’96 season and proceeded to manage at every level of the organization, including eight seasons at triple-A Durham, winning seven South Division titles in the International League.
Statement from #Rays manager Kevin Cash on hirings of Charlie Montoyo by #BlueJays and Rocco Baldelli by #Twins … pic.twitter.com/nRyF2Dybqs
— Shi Davidi (@ShiDavidi) October 25, 2018
The Rays added him to their big-league staff as third base coach in 2015 and he served three years in that role until his promotion to bench coach this year.
“I am extremely honoured and humbled to join the Toronto Blue Jays organization and I would like to thank Mark (Shapiro) and Ross for this amazing opportunity,” Montoyo said in the team’s release. “Managing a team that represents an entire nation is incredibly special. My family and I look forward to working towards the ultimate goal of winning a championship for this city. I also want to recognize the entire Tampa Bay Rays organization for giving me the chance to start my coaching career.”
The Blue Jays now give him the chance to mould the culture of a clubhouse in transition, to take what he learned from one of the smartest franchises in the sport and apply it to a team in a city sure to embrace him if he successfully does.
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