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TUCSON, Ariz. — You are about to know him as an energetic man with a quick smile and even quicker wit, a baseball lifer committed to mining the best out of those who surround him.

But to get to the heart of Charlie Montoyo, the 13th manager in the history of the Toronto Blue Jays, it is perhaps best to start in the Arizona desert, specifically the family’s home in the shadow of the Santa Catalina mountains.

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In the room above the garage here in the upscale Tucson suburb is Montoyo’s man cave, a retreat where the 53-year-old enjoys portions of his off-season by getting lost in his love for salsa music, the roots of which date to his childhood in Puerto Rico.

Next down the hall is the room of youngest son Alex, an ebullient 11-year-old whose spirit is embraced by anyone lucky enough to get to know him. On one of the walls in Alex’s lair there is already a Blue Jays pennant. The youngest Montoyo is a young baseball nerd in training, already well-studied in the players on the roster his father will help resuscitate after two terrible seasons.