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Edited for space, here’s what a relaxed and recharged Montoyo had to say about all things Blue Jays during our one-on-one conversation at the desk that will be his home until spring training breaks in late March.

♦ What was the biggest thing you learned in your first year as a big-league manager?

“How much I like being a leader. I really love that part of it. I really love empowering people to do their job and I believe I did that last year.

“Being a player development guy for most of my career, I loved seeing the young guys get better.

“The two most exciting things that happened last year was just managing in the big leagues for the first time and seeing that crowd on opening day. It was a special day for me.

“In the second half of the year, seeing our guys just keep getting better and competing against the best teams in baseball. We never quit, even when we were 30 games under .500 or whatever it was, we were playing every game like we were trying to win. That’s not an easy thing to do, but it’s something I’m really proud of. It was a complement to our kids and to all of our coaches.”

♦ What was the toughest part for you personally?

“It started in spring training, losing pitchers. First it was (Ryan) Borucki going down and then (Matt) Shoemaker and (Aaron) Sanchez with his finger. Being around the game for such a long time, you know you need pitching to have any chance and once our guys started getting hurt, I knew there was no chance for us. That was the hardest part.”