Bautista excited to celebrate Blue Jays career in Toronto

Jose Bautista was the face of a new generation of Toronto Blue Jays baseball.

After the Blue Jays missed the playoffs for 22-straight seasons, the Bautista-led Blue Jay team in 2015 gave many baseball fans in Canada their first taste of success on the postseason stage.

Bautista shined the brightest on that stage after hitting a three-run, go-ahead, home run in the bottom of the seventh inning of a deciding Game 5 against the Texas Rangers. Afterwards, he emphatically flipped his bat, providing fans with an iconic moment that will be talked about for generations to come.

On Aug. 12, Blue Jays fans will have an opportunity to celebrate Bautista's legendary career when the organization places his name in the Level of Excellence prior to a game against the Chicago Cubs.

"I'm incredibly humbled, excited and honoured," Bautista told TSN1050's OverDrive on Friday afternoon. "It's always good to be recognized but it feels better to be coming back to Toronto and sharing that day, my highlights and my career with the fans. I'll use it to show my appreciation for all the love I received in Canada and Toronto."

Bautista's rise to stardom did not come easily to the now 42-year-old. After being drafted in the 20th round of the 2000 MLB draft by the Pittsburgh Pirates, he toiled for parts of four seasons, hitting .240 with 31 home runs and 117 RBIs split between the Baltimore Orioles, Tampa Bay Devil Rays, Kansas City Royals, and Pirates before he was traded to the Blue Jays in the middle of the 2008 season.

Under manager Cito Gaston, Bautista was given consistent playing time with the Blue Jays and put in a position to succeed where he began to flourish. In only his second year with Toronto during the 2010 season, Bautista broke out by setting the Blue Jays' single-season home run record (54) while batting .260 with 124 RBIs. Prior to that season, he had never hit more than 16 home runs in a season.

The Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic native followed that in 2011 by batting .302 with 43 home runs and 103 RBIs while finishing third in American League MVP voting.

By the time Bautista's 10-season career in Toronto was over, he was a six-time all-star, three-time Silver Slugger and finished second all-time in franchise home runs (288), sixth all-time in franchise hits (1,103), and fifth all-time in games played (1,235).

"I always felt comfortable [in Toronto] and they received me in a tremendous way from day one," Bautista said. " I got an opportunity and proper instruction where I was allowed to play up to my capabilities using my strengths."

Despite his many accolades as a Blue Jay, what stands out the most for Bautista is that 2015 playoff run and the emotions that came leading up his bat flip moment.

"The biggest thing for me was that it was a big moment and that we were able to enjoy the first time back in the playoffs after a 22-year drought," said Bautista. "[The series against the Rangers] was a tough series that went back and forth where we lost the first two games and had a tough hole to dig out of. Then Game 5 had so much back and forth, so much drama in the ways that the Rangers scored runs and errors they made leading up to the home run. It was a pretty dramatic game and it was a peak of our emotions after I hit the home run."

When looking at the current iteration of the Blue Jays, Bautista admires the talent that first baseman Vladimir Guerrero Jr. has at the age of 23. Guerrero already is a two-time all-star, Silver Slugger, and Gold Glove winner and finished second in AL MVP voting after batting .311 with 48 home runs and 111 RBIs in 2021.

"He's a great, young, talented hitter at a way younger age than me, so if anything I can learn from him," gushed Bautista. "He's got a tremendous approach that I think he can use throughout his career [that's] more than just a swing. You're always adapting and changing your swing according to how the league is pitching to you and how teams are attack you. He's been tremendous early in his career and will continue to be a force to be reckoned with for a long time in the major leagues."

With the dimensions of the Rogers Centre changing for the 2023 season, players like Guerrero Jr. have an opportunity to challenge some of Bautista's records. To his credit, Bautista wishes nothing but the best for the current Blue Jays.

"I just want the Blue Jays to have a lot of success," said Bautista. "Records are made to be broken, I don't hold any ego in that. While it's not to enjoy in the moment, if it means another Blue Jays player has an amazing season and it leads to a playoff run, so be it."