Elliott: Rave reviews from ex-mates on Jays new boss Montoyo
Neew Blue Jays manager Charllie Montoyo.
Originally publisged Oct. 27, 2018
By Bob Elliott
Canadian Baseball Network
When we saw the initial list of prospective Blue Jays managers we were not impressed:
Rocco Baldelli, 37, Tampa Bay Rays field coordinator, whose next game as a manager will be his first, including the minors.
Joe Espada, 43, Houston Astros bench coach, who managed one season in the Puerto Rican winter league (38 games) with Atenienses de Manati.
Brandon Hyde, 45, Chicago Cubs bench coach, who had managed six years (694 games) in the Florida Marlins system at class-A Greensboro, class-A Jupiter, double-A Carolina and double-A Jacksonville.
David Bell, 46, San Francisco Giants farm director and a member of one of the game’s most regal families, who managed four seasons (592 games) in the Cincinnati Reds system at double-A Carolina and triple-A Louisville.
The rationale for being unimpressed with the list is because the Blue Jays need a caretaker manager. They will not contend in 2019. They need patience at the helm. They did not need a young buck in his first job who will stretch a bullpen, ride a starter “can you get me a couple of more outs,” or run his troops into the ground for that one or two extra win.
When the Blue Jays said goodbye to Roy Hartsfield after the 1979 season, they brought in Bobby Mattick, 64, to manage. Mattick was not out to win Manager of the Year honours. He was there to develop. After three seasons he turned control over to manager Bobby Cox for 1982. Three years later the Jays reeled off 99 wins -- still the most in franchise history -- to win the American League East for the first time.
When the Atllanta Braves got rid of Freddi Gonzalez and replaced him with organizational lifer Brian Snitker, he was not hired to make post-season play. Buut Snitker did.
One could say that in Ron Gardenhire, the Detroit Tigers hired someone to develop players for the next manager.
Yet, when Blue Jays management pulled back the curtains they selected Charlie Montoyo, 53, former Tampa Bay Rays bench coach, not someone from the original list.
Montoyo managed 18 seasons (3,688 games) at rookie-class Princeton, class-A Hudson Valley, class-A Charleston, class-A Bakersfield, double-A Orlando, double-A Montgomery and triple-A Durham.
Montoyo managed more seasons and more games than Baldelli, Espada, Hyde and Bell combined.
Heck, he managed more games at Durham -- 2,150 in eight seasons including seven first-place International League Southern Division finishes -- than the others combined. He reached the Governors’ Cup finals a league-record six times and won the Governors’ Cup championship in 2009 and 2013. His 633 victories rank first all-time in franchise history.
Mark Shapiro got it right. Someone with experience ... someone who knows when a player needs to be prodded, when a pat on the back is required, someone who speaks Spanish and someone who played with Vlad Guerrero, the father, not the son in the Montreal Expos system. How much patience can a man have to survive 18 seasons of bus trips, sitting around ballparks waiting for “windows … since it is not raining at the airport,” bad umpiring (oh wait, it won’t be any better here), bonus baby sluggers not understanding why the opposing pitchers won’t throw him strictly fastballs.
I’d say Charlie Montoyo has patience.
Former Rays bench coach and new Blue Jays manager Charlie Montoyo, with ex-Jay Kevin Cash, the Rays skipper.
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Montoyo was a September call up the same month Joe Siddall (Windsor, Ont.) and Denis Boucher (Lachine, Que.) formed the first all-Canadian battery in the National League.
He pinch-hit for Oreste Marrero and had a two-out single off Gary Wayne in the eighth inning to give the Expos a 4-3 win over the Colorado Rockies.
Ten days later, he pinch hit for Brian Barnes facing the Philadelphia Phillies Mitch Williams (see above) and flew out in the 11th. I was there that night but do not recall Montoyo. It was hard to forget Curtis Pride who had a hearing impairment hitting a pinch-hit double off Bobby Thigpen to score Randy Ready and Sean Berry making it a one-run game. The Phillies made a pitching change as the 45,757 at Stade Olympique roared as if it was 1981.
Since time was called third base coach Jerry Manuel looked Pride in the eyes so the outfielder could read his lips and told him to tip his cap when he got back to second. Second base ump Gary Darling told Pride to smile. Later in a 1-on-1 Pride said, “He could hear the noise from the fans ... in his heart.”
Six days later Montoyo pinch ran for Delino DeShields and scored as John Vander Wal doubled off Dave Telgheder in a 9-3 New York Mets win at Shea Stadium.
His only other game in the majors came two days later in Miami as he pinch hit for Sean Berry in the fourth against Chris Hammond and flew out. The next inning he doubled to left off Hammond scoring Mike Lansing and Rondell White. He flew out in the sixth and was replaced in the field as the Expos beat the Florida Marlins 7-1 at Joe Robbie Stadium.
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A year ago the crop of six new managers included:
Mickey Callaway, 42, was hired by the New York Mets, although he had never managed in the minors or the majors.
Gabe Kapler, 43, hired by the Philadelphia Phillies, without managing in the majors and one year experience at class-A Greenville (139 games).
Alex Cora, 43, hired by the Boston Red Sox, had never managed in the minors or the majors.
Aaron Boone, 44, hired by the New York Yankees, who had never managed in the minors or the majors.
Dave Martinez, 53, was hired by the Washington Nationals, despite never managing in the minors or the majors.
Ron Gardenhire, 61, hired by the Detroit Tigers, managed 14 seasons with the Twins (2,107 games) and three years in the minors (429) at class-A Kenosha and double-A Orlando.
Outside of Gardenhire, Montoyo has more experience than last year’s crop. It is true in the copy cat land of baseball, executives will try and find the next Alex Cora or the next A.J. Hinch. One problem for the Jays is the fact that they do not have the horses the Boston Red Sox gave Cora or the studs that the Houston Astros gave Hinch.
Apart from Jim Fregosi and Bobby Cox, the Blue Jays have never hired a manager with previous major-league experience. In a sport that often recycles managers, this stands out.
In an era when executives are managing teams based on statistical analysis, the trend has been to hire young managers. The Montoyo hire is an exception.
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From Florida, Puerto Rico, Montoyo was drafted from the Louisiana Tech Bulldogs by the Milwaukee Brewers in the sixth round in 1987. He was in the Brewers system until 1993 was signed by the Expos, making the majors for four games that season, was with the Philadelphia Phillies in 1995 and back with the Expos in 1996, his final season.
Initial responses to people we spoke to were mostly: “It was a good choice,” and “He’ll get the job done,” and “He’ll do well.”
The two biggest concerns expressed were worries over how he’d handle the Toronto media (“I haven’t been North in a couple of years, but I am guessing there are still more outlets than in Durham,” said one.) and the other was the guy who said Montoyo “runs like he’s being pulled by a tractor trailer.”
Can the media wear on a manager? Well, in 1985 Jimy Williams coached third base making split-second decisions for the Jays best team ever -- if you go by wins. He had a witty sense of humor. The next year he was wound tighter than a Tommy John ligament.
What’s the worst part of being a manager I asked Williams while he was hitting fungoes during batting practice early in the 1986 season?
“Over there,” he said nodding to cameras set up for remote hits in foul ground. “There are six cameras ... I have to do live hits on five of them.”
Some samplings of people who were played with or were managed by Montoyo:
_ Denis Boucher (Lachine, Que.), Yankees scout, who played with Montoyo at the 1993 triple-A Ottawa Lynx: “One night we’re playing the Richmond Braves and they have all these prospects and I’m pitching. They have men on second and third with one out and Javier Lopez up, with Ryan Klesko on deck. I don’t walk Lopez intentionally but I throw him curve balls out of the zone and on the 3-0 pitch I bounce a change up for ball four.
“The Richmond dugout was pissed, players were screaming, ‘Throw a fastball.’ First pitch to Klesko, I throw a curve. He hits it to third base, Charlie Montoyo fields it, steps on the bag and throws to first. Double play. We walk off the field. Every time I hear the name Charlie Montoyo I think of that inning. Charlie was like Alex Cora ... he could play anywhere. He’s a quiet guy. His best friend was Tavo Alvarez.”
_ Bart Braun, who spent 18 years with Tampa Bay as a scout and an assistant GM, now a special assignment scout with the Philadelphia Phillies: “I’ve known Charlie a long, long, long time. He managed for 18 years in our system I think. Charlie gets along with people. Charlie’s communications skills are real good. He was free to manage the way he wanted to at Durham.
“Sometime its hard: teams give the managers their marching orders and you see what’s going on in the World Series right now - pitching matchups in the third inning. Lately, I’ve seen teams shifting at the class-A level. Our guys liked playing for him because he was fair and honest. Charlie’s not a self promoter ... I was just hoping after all those years that they did not forget about him. He’s is very even keeled. I hope they let him manage.
“You’ve got a chance to win when you’ve got players, if you don’t have players ... If you are short, you are short. Think of when Toronto started. They didn’t have players, then Pat Gillick brought in players. Everyone in the Rays system ... they all went through him every guy on the club -- Evan Longoria to David Price. He had them all, except for guys we got in trade.”
We once remember looking at the Rick Vaughn’s award-winning notes and reading 85% of current Rays roster had played for Montoyo. Plus Scott Kazmir, B.J. Upton, Dewon Brazelton, Jesus Colome, James Shields, Rocco Baldelli, Jorge Cantu, Jonny Gomes, Elliot Johnson, Grant Balfour, Jeff Niemann, Andy Sonnanstine, Jay Witasick, Willy Aybar, Reid Brignac, Akinori Iwamura, John Jaso, Desmond Jennings, Sean Rodriguez, Jeremy Hellickson, Dan Johnson, Matt Joyce, Dioner Navarro, Ryan Shealy, Kelly Shoppach, Tim Beckham, Chris Carter, Robinson Chirinos, Brandon Guyer, Chris Archer, Alex Cobb, J.P. Howell, Jake McGee, Matt Moore, Sam Fuld, Kevin Kiermaier, Jason Bourgeois, Wil Myers, Curt Casali, Mikie Mahtook and Matt Andriese.
_ Carlos Delgado of Aguadilla, Puerto Rico, former Blue Jays slugging first baseman: “I played against Charlie in my younger days in the winter ball in Puerto Rico. He is a really nice guy. I have not spent any significant amount of time with him lately.
“I know he put a lot of time in as a manager in the minor leagues with the Rays and he was very well liked.”
Pat Kelly, who managed Charlie Montoyo with the triple-A Ottawa Lynx, was also his final manager two years later with the double-A Harrisburg Senators.
_ Pat Kelly, Cincinnati Reds coach, the last man to manage Montoyo, in 1996 with at double-A Harrisburg Senators: “Charlie was great. That last year in Harrisburg, he was almost like a player coach. I had Vladimir Guerrero, Jeff Blum, Brad Fullmer, Bob Henley, Jose Vidro and Rondell White. Charlie was great with the younger players. Charlie was solid fundamentally, he just didn’t have one tool that was that great. He was a line drive hitter, a steady defender, nothing flashy.
“I had Charlie five or six years before that in winter ball in 1995-96. He had a unique hitting stance. Like Craig Counsell. My sons Chris (San Diego Padres scout) and Casey (first-round choice of the Red Sox in 2008) were always around. Casey was six and loved to imitate Charlie. He’d walk around with the bat held high saying ‘Charlie Montoyo, Charlie Montoyo.’
“Charlie also played for me in Puerto Rico and I managed against him in winter ball. In 1995-96 we beat him in the best-of-nine final. I had Mike Matheny, Bernie Wiliiams Carlos Beltran. He was a thorn in our side. Charlie is a hard-nosed guy, who believes in playing the game right. I’m interested in seeing how the analytics and his style mix. I think it’s a great combination. In 1992, we (Mayagüez) won in Puerto Rico to go to the Caribbean World Series. Tim Johnson managed Hermosillo the champs from Mexico and Felipe Alou had Escogido, the champs from the Dominican Republic. Three of the four mangers were working in the Montreal system.”
_ Lou Pote, a teammate of Montoyo’s with the Harrisburg Senators, who won the 1996 Eastern League title, now an Okotoks Dawgs instructor: “We won that year. Charlie was a veteran who was very hard on himself. He never reflected that on younger guys, he always helped our them. He’d go above and beyond to help with any part of their game. Charlie communicated well with others.
“He expected a lot out of himself. For a veteran guy who had been to triple-A, he wasn’t bitter ... I learned that from him. We had some talent. Vladimir Guerrero, Jose Vidro, Bob Henley, Mike Thurman, who played in the big leagues (as did Geoff Blum, Jolbert Cabrera, Brad Fullmer, DaRond Stovall, Rondell White, Denis Boucher and Kirk Bullinger). We had a really good team, but a really young team. He could relate whether it was a pitcher, an infielder or a hitter.
“Charlie understand the adversity you find in the game. He wasn’t a super star. He had to work his way up. I had heard his name mentioned a couple of times to manage other teams.”
_ Bruce Walton, former Blue Jays pitching coach, 2018 pitching coach at class-A Jupiter and Marlins development coach of the year, who played with Montoyo in Ottawa in 1993: “Charlie is awesome. He played a lot of positions. He was like me in that he knew that one day we would coach. Everyone liked Charlie, he was friends with everyone speaking English and Spanish. I was closing, we were the first pro team back in Ottawa It was fun being an Expo in those days. Matt Stairs was on our team as a calming influence. I ran across Charlie in Tampa. You meet guys like Kevin Cash and Charlie along the way and you know that good things are going to happen to them.”
_ Tim Wilken, former Blue Jays and Tampa Bay scouting director, now with the Arizona Diamondbacks: “Charlie is the same guy every day. There is a lot to be said for that. He was a pretty good skipper when I saw him in the minors. I know most of the Tampa Bay coaches with (ex-Jays catcher) Kevin Cash being there. They had a heck of a staff Tom Foley, Rocco Baldelli and Jim Hickey.
“Their upbringings trace back to Jim Hoff (ex-minor league pitching instructor with the Jays). Look at Jim’s career. He was with the Big Red Machine in the Reds system (1973-78), then with the Blue Jays (1997-2002) and then he goes to the Rays, who went to the 2008 World Series. The Rays always paid attention to detail. They might not have been the best team, but they always paid attention. They have one of the most underrated player development staffs in baseball. They’re probably the best at developing high school pitchers like Wade Davis, Jeremy Hellickson, Alex Cobb, Blake Snell, James Shields, Matt Moore Matt Andriese, Nathan Eovaldi and others compared to about four college arms.”
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David Bell was hired by the Reds.
Rocco Baldelli was hired by the Minnesota Twins, replacing Paul Molitor.
Espada, Montoyo, Bell and Baldelli were all on the Texas Rangers list.
It was like a number of teams were working off the same managerial list.
Point is minor leaguers who have spent a great part of their lives manging double-A and triple-A hoping for a break — upset at seeing so many guys with nary one minor-league game under their belts get hired — will be toasting Charlie Montoyo … and hoping he does well to open the dooors for others.
If the Jays were not going to entrust their 2019 edition to Hall of Famer Molitor, Montoyo looks like a good fit in Toronto.