Longtime Toronto slugger Jose Bautista will sign a one-day contract with the team and retire as a Blue Jays player, the team announced Friday.
Bautista, 42, spent 10 years in Toronto from 2008 to 2017, where he became one of the MLB’s most feared bats throughout the 2010s and one of the best players in Blue Jays history.
A six-time All-Star, Bautista clubbed 344 career home runs, including 288 as a Blue Jays player. He finished in the top eight of American League MVP voting four times during his tenure in Toronto.
His 54 home runs in 2010 remains the single-season record for a Blue Jays player.
‘Joey Bats’ is best known for his iconic bat flip after belting a go-ahead three-run homer in Game 5 of the 2015 American League Division Series against the Texas Rangers, effectively sending the Blue Jays to the ALCS. Immediately after making contact, Bautista stood, stared, launched his bat over his shoulder, and began his home run trot.
Bautista launches his bat in the air after hitting a go-ahead three-run homer.
It remains one of the most iconic moments in the last decade of Major League Baseball.
Bautista hasn’t played a MLB game since 2018.
Related Articles
MLB
Blue Jays acquire SS Paul DeJong from Cardinals
In the second trade deadline deal between the Blue Jays and St. Louis Cardinals, shortstop Paul DeJong was shipped up north to Toronto.
David Schneidman
Aug 01 2023
