Montoyo says Jays had a great season

For the third-straight season the Toronto Blue Jays are missing the postseason.

It hasn’t been an easy year for the team or the fans.

The team traded away most of the few recognizable names that were left on the team from the playoff-run back in 2015-2016.

They also got a new manager — Charlie Montoyo. This was his first year as a Manager for an MLB team after being a coach in the minors and bench coach with the Tampa Bay Rays.

“I think it went great!” Montoyo told CityNews about his first season. “Nevermind the wins and losses. We had the toughest schedule in the second half, especially in September and we competed and played .500 baseball. I think that’s great because it means our players are getting better which was our goal. The kids are getting better playing against the best teams.”

Yes, you could say the “kids” are alright — Montoyo is referring to the slew of rookies who made their MLB debut with the Jays this season including Bo Bichette, Vladimir Gurrero Jr and Cavan Biggio. The three were part of the wrecking crew that set an MLB record for most rookies with more than 10 home runs in a single season.

The rookies were one of the few brights spots in the season where the Jays managed to narrowly avoid a 100 games loss season. But Montoyo also saw a lot of positive moments in the year that has him excited for the next season.

“You know one thing, negative stuff doesn’t help anybody so we stay positive the whole time and it showed because even in the games we were losing we never quit.”

Montoyo, who is known to pop-up from time to time and play the bongos at the Lula Lounge in Toronto, says there is one benefit to their season being cut short.

“I’m going to go home and be a dad! That is my favourite job and I cannot wait to go home and watch the playoffs with my son.”