“Culture Reset”

Post by: Jake Kamin

It seems as if Charlie Montoyo has not just been instrumental with a rebuild, but essential to the culture reset. With Montoyo being the Blue Jays first Spanish-speaking manager, he has enticed many Spanish-speaking players onto the roster, with Lourdes Gurriel Jr. and Freddy Galvis as part of the infield. Many people believe Vladdy Guerrero Jr. will help Toronto’s cause as he would be a huge asset and contribute well to the “culture reset”.

By rearranging the roster, the Jays have welcomed a more multi-cultural team. Players like Galvis, Gurriel Jr., Teoscar Hernandez and Elvis Luciano show the organization is clearly working with the development of Spanish-speaking players, given Montoyo’s role as manager. Certainly shuffling the team is a test for Montoyo and his colleagues. Given the little experience Montoyo has as MLB manager, and that the Jays roster is very young and inexperienced itself, the team faces a lot of challenges.

Certainly, the addition of all these players isn’t translating well to the interest of the fans, specifically, the attendance level at the dome is less than impressive. The Blue Jays are not showing much for the fans. With an average of 10,000 fans filling the seats of Rogers Centre, it is a less than impressive crowd for Toronto. With strong AL East competitors that the Blue Jays are surrounded by such as the Yankees and Red Sox, the Blue Jays might as well rule out this season for any success. A rebuild takes a long time. No doubt, but hopefully, with manager, Charlie Montoyo, he will eventually manage a team that will be intriguing and exciting for the fans.

The energy of Jays home games this season is certainly off. When you walk into Rogers Centre you see far more empty seats than filled ones. The energy is different than when we were competing for a playoff spot. It is unusually vacant and quiet.

Yet, some people working at the dome decided to provide their own entertainment. Vendors are entertaining and lively, and now they are offering the elusive white wine as a ballpark feature.

And usually when the message on the videoboard says to “make some noise”, the crowd makes some attempts and it becomes almost like a concert-like vibe. Yet, fans were simply not enthused enough and the “get loud” music certainly superseded the crowd:

Blue Jays fans are going to have to be patient in order to see some tangible success from the Jays. When we do start winning again, expect to see many ‘bandwagoners’. Until then, though, expect to have many conversations like these with your friends about the Toronto Blue Jays for who knows how long: