As the year comes to a close, Blue Jays Nation is reflecting on the year that was and revisiting some of the top articles from 2024. For #6, we look at a ‘news and notes’ piece from Cam Lewis midway through the year that focuses on Joey Votto and his quest to the Blue Jays roster and a former manager looking to get back into the saddle.
Votto joined the Blue Jays on a MiLB deal late into the spring. After one outing in Spring Training, he landed on the injured list and didn’t debut until mid-June. After a quick stint in Rookie Ball and single-A, he was heading to Buffalo in early August.
After two games, Votto was suiting up against the Worcester Red Sox when the magic happened. The lefty-batter drove a low offering straight over the right field wall – a no-doubter on the road to give the Bions a 10-1 lead.
we never thought we'd be tweeting this…
A Joey Votto HOME RUN with @PatWGR on the call ️#Bisons | @BlueJays pic.twitter.com/UKIjRD240C
— Buffalo Bisons (@BuffaloBisons) August 4, 2024
Votto would continue his journey for the next few weeks but officially hung up his cleats in late August. In typical Votto fashion, it was a recording from the Bisons parking lot announcing his retirement and thanking those for following along on his journey. While he didn’t make it to the Jays, Votto’s time with the organization was limited to 31 games and he slashed .165/.298/.271 between all three levels while collecting three doubles and two home runs with 12 RBIs.
Charlie Montoyo linked to the White Sox manager role
Also in the article was a note on former manager Charlie Montoyo and his potential to manage the club after the organization was rumoured to be firing Pedro Grifol.
On August 8th, the White Sox did fire Grifol but Montoyo was not named the interim manager, with the club naming former big leaguer Grady Sizemore to the role. Instead, Montoyo was fired alongside Grifol, third base coach Eddie Rodriguez, and assistant hitting coach Mike Tosar. The club went on to post a 41-121 record and has been regarded as one of the worst seasons in recent memory – with their 121 losses surpassing the 1962 Mets for the most losses in modern MLB history. This winter, the White Sox decided to hire Will Venable as their manager and moved Sizemore to the offensive coordinator position. Montoyo is still looking for a new position this winter.It’s been a long time since the Chicago White Sox won a game. The team is currently mired in a 20-game losing streak that dates all the way back to July 10 and they now own a 27-86 record on the season.
According to Travis Hudson, an independent reporter out of New York who was the first on the news that Erick Fedde was being traded from the White Sox to the St. Louis Cardinals last week, Chicago is going to make a managerial change in the coming days. Hudson said that the White Sox are going to fire Pedro Grifol and that Charlie Montoyo will take over as the team’s manager.
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