Montoyo, Ryu are award underdogs
Narrative of solid season away from home the kind that sways voters
The Blue Jays’ first post-season appearance since 2016 has resulted in manager Charlie Montoyo and left-hander Hyun-Jin Ryu being named finalists for MLB’s annual hardware.
Montoyo and Ryu finished in the top three in their respective categories for the Baseball Writers’ Association of America awards on Monday night. The Tampa Bay Rays’ Kevin Cash and since-fired Rick Renteria, formerly of the Chicago White Sox, are the other finalists for top manager in the American League. Cleveland’s Shane Bieber and Minnesota’s Kenta Maeda are the other starting pitchers up for the AL Cy Young. The winners will be revealed next week.
The BBWAA awards feature ballots from two accredited journalists in each majorleague city. The process took place between the final week of the regular season and before the first pitch was thrown in the post-season. Bobby Cox (1985) is the only Blue Jays manager to win, while Pat Hentgen (1996), Roger Clemens (1997-98) and Roy Halladay (2003) were Cy Young recipients.
“I am honoured to be considered along with Kevin Cash and Rick Renteria for manager of the year,” Montoyo said in a statement released by the Jays. “After an incredibly challenging season, playing 60 games away from home, being away from our families, I am so proud of my players who faced this season head on without complaints. By turning negatives into positives, we were able to focus on winning, never quitting, and earning a playoff spot for Toronto, Buffalo and the country of Canada.”
Montoyo isn’t considered the favourite — that title likely belongs to Cash, after he led the Rays to an AL East crown — but it’s still a privilege for the longtime minor-league manager to be nominated. The 55year-old Montoyo spent 18 seasons managing in the Rays’ system before joining the big-league club as a third-base coach in 2015 and later getting hired by Toronto.
In 2009, Montoyo won the Mike Coolbaugh Award, presented annually to someone in the minor leagues who has displayed “an outstanding baseball work ethic, knowledge of the game and skill in mentoring young players on the field.” He later earned International League manager of the year awards in 2010 and 2013 for his work with triple-A Durham. This is the first time he has been nominated for one of the top big-league honours.
Montoyo likely earned his spot because of the Jays’ ability to overcome adversity during the pandemic. Toronto was the only major-league team not permitted to play at its home ballpark this season, which meant the Jays had to be temporarily relocated to Buffalo. Despite the inconveniences, the young roster rarely voiced its displeasure, and the club went on to enjoy its best season in four years.
Another factor that worked in Montoyo’s favour is that the Jays exceeded expectations. At the start of the season, they were pegged by most experts to miss the playoffs, even with the debut of an expanded postseason format. That didn’t happen as the Jays beat out the Texas Rangers, Los Angeles Angels and others to hang onto the eighth and final seed.
These are the types of narratives that often drive the vote for manager of the year. Unlike other categories, there isn’t a statistic or metric that voters can study to make informed decisions. Most baseball writers would have only seen snippets of Montoyo’s work, instead forced to trust their own instincts or recommendations from others inside the game.
Of the 30 voters for AL manager of the year, only 10 reside in AL East cities. The other 20 cover ball clubs in the AL Central and West divisions, teams that did not play the Jays or Rays because of travel restrictions. Without stats to rely on, narratives often determine who comes out on top and Montoyo’s case was compelling enough to place among the top three.
Inside the Toronto market, Montoyo earned positive reviews for his mentorship of younger players and the transitioning of minor-league starters into a big-league bullpen. It’s worth pointing out that, unlike a lot of teams, the Jays didn’t appear to have any issues with the coronavirus or players breaking quarantine.
The topic of in-game managing remains far more controversial, especially considering the front office plays a role in the day-to-day decisions being made, much like Cash in Tampa Bay.
The Cy Young voting is more straightforward because there are lots of stats — both traditional and new-age analytics — which can be used to determine where pitchers get ranked. Ryu made the top three, but Bieber is a lock to run away with the award after he went 8-1 with a 1.63 ERA across 77 1⁄3 innings. By comparison, Ryu had a 5-2 record with a 2.69 ERA across 67 innings in his first season after signing a four-year deal with the Jays worth $80 million (U.S.).
Ryu finished in the top three in voting despite tossing more than six innings in a start just once. What he lacked in innings, the Korean made up for in consistency by limiting the opposition to two runs or less in all but one of his final 10 starts of the year. Ryu’s ERA ranked fourth in the AL, and his 1.15 walks/hits per inning pitched ranked 11th.
The manager of the year will be announced on Nov. 10, with the Cy Young winner set to be revealed the following day. Neither Montoyo nor Ryu figures to come out on top, but even getting mentioned in these categories is a big honour.