José Bautista hasn’t played in a big league game since 2018 but had never officially retired in the years after his last appearance. Shi Davidi of Sportsnet was among those to report today that Bautista will sign a one-day contract with Toronto to officially retire as a Blue Jay, as part of the ceremony wherein he will be added to the club’s Level of Excellence on Saturday.
Bautista, now 42, didn’t have the typical path to baseball stardom as he wasn’t a high draft pick or top prospect. The Pirates selected him in the 20th round of the draft in 2000 and he would get some modest attention from prospect evaluators after that, with Baseball America ranking him #14 in the system in 2002 and #7 in 2003.
In 2004, he had an especially unusual season, getting selected by the Orioles in the Rule 5 draft. As the season wore on, he was claimed off waivers by the Devil Rays, then was subsequently traded to the Royals, Mets and back to the Pirates. He would stick with the Pirates for a few years, mostly as a third baseman but also playing some outfield. He showed glimpses of his potential at the plate, hitting 16 home runs in 2006, 15 the year after and another 15 in 2008.
That 2008 season saw him traded to the Blue Jays in August for a player to be named later, which was eventually revealed as Robinzon Díaz. A fairly forgettable transaction at the time, it would later prove to be the start of the defining era of Bautista’s career.
His first full season as a Blue Jay wasn’t especially noteworthy, as Bautista hit 13 home runs in 2009, though there were a few developments that would prove to be important in later years. He began incorporating a leg kick into his swing and also started to spend more time in right field, with his strong throwing arm a good fit for that spot.
In 2010, at the age of 29, Bautista broke out in stunning fashion. He launched 54 home runs for the Jays that year, setting a new single season record for the franchise. He also showed a keen eye at the plate, drawing walks in 14.6% of his plate appearances. His .260/.378/.617 batting line amounted to a wRC+ of 165, indicating he was 65% better than the league average hitter. The Jays decided to bank on that breakout, giving Bautista a five-year, $65MM extension that covered his final arbitration season and four free agent years, with a club option for 2016.
He followed that up with an even better season overall. His home run tally dropped to 43 in 2011, but his patient approach allowed him to take advantage of pitchers giving him less to hit. He was walked in 20.2% of his trips to the plate in 2011, leading to a .302/.447/.608 slash line. His 180 wRC+ was the best in the majors that year and would eventually prove to be his personal best as well. He was considered to be worth 8.1 wins above replacement by FanGraphs and 8.4 by Baseball Reference. He came in third in AL MVP voting behind Justin Verlander and Jacoby Ellsbury.
His production would continue in fairly similar fashion for years to come, defined by both his power output and on-base abilities. From 2012 to 2016, he hit between 22 and 40 home runs each year with his walk rate never finishing below 13.1%. Despite that excellent production, and that of another late-blooming star in Edwin Encarnación, the Jays struggled to push too far beyond .500 in most of those seasons.
The 2015 season finally changed that, with the Jays aggressively bolstering the roster by adding Josh Donaldson, Russell Martin and others in the offseason. The trade deadline saw further aggression, with the club adding a batch of players headlined by Troy Tulowitzki and David Price. The moves paid off when the Jays surged in the final months of the season and finished 93-69, winning the American League East and cracking the postseason for the first time since 1993.
Bautista’s first opportunity to play in the playoffs would lead to a singular moment and image that are now cemented in the minds of millions of baseball fans. The Jays squared off against the Rangers in the Wild Card series, which had a best-of-five format at that time. The Jays lost the first two games but rallied to tie it up and force a fifth contest.
In the deciding game, the Jays fell behind in the top of the seventh 3-2 on a strange play wherein Rougned Odor scored when Martin’s attempted throw back to pitcher Aaron Sanchez hit the bat of Shin-Soo Choo and ricocheted away. Home plate umpire Dale Scott initially ruled the ball dead but the umpiring crew eventually allowed the run to score. That soured the mood in the stadium, with many fans throwing debris to express their displeasure.
In the bottom of the frame, several defensive miscues from the Rangers allowed the Jays to tie the game up before Bautista launched a two-out, three-run home run to give the Jays a 6-3 lead. Bautista reacted to the emotionally-charged atmosphere by flipping his bat high into the air, which proved to be controversial in some baseball circles, though it would quickly become an iconic moment among Jays’ fans. Toronto held on to win that game but would lose to the Royals in the ALCS.
After Bautista’s extension ended, the Jays gave him a $17.2MM qualifying offer for 2017. He rejected that and became a free agent but eventually returned to Toronto via a one-year, $18.5MM deal. He still hit 23 home runs and walked in 12.2% of his plate appearances, but his overall production fell to .203/.308/.366 and a wRC+ of 81.
In 2018, he returned to the journeyman status that started his career, bouncing to the Braves, Mets and Phillies. He didn’t sign with a club in the years to come, though he did reportedly consider a comeback as a two-way player in 2020, but later threw some cold water on those reports. He played for the Dominican Republic team in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, which were pushed to 2021 by delays related to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Now it seems his playing days will be officially ended during this weekend’s festivities, tying a bow on one of the more unique baseball journeys. Though Bautista began and ended his career as a journeyman, he had a late bloom that led to a lengthy stretch as one of the best players in the league. From 2010 to 2015, he hit 227 home runs, easily the most in the league for that time with Miguel Cabrera second at 199. He slashed .268/.390/.555 in that time for a wRC+ of 156 and tallied 33.2 fWAR, that latter figure placing him sixth among position players. His 60 outfield assists in that stretch were topped by just three other big leaguers. He engineered many memorable moments during that peak, too many to list here, featuring both his tremendous talents as well as his fiery and standout personality.
Over his career as a whole, he played 1,798 games and took 7,244 trips to the plate. He launched 344 home runs and walked at a 14.2% rate, leading to a .247/.361/.475 batting line and 126 wRC+. He had 1,496 hits, 1,022 runs scored, 975 driven in and stole 70 bases. He tallied 35.3 fWAR and 36.7 bWAR. He made six straight All-Star teams from 2010 to 2015, led the league in home runs twice, earned a couple of Hank Aaron awards and three Silver Sluggers. As a Blue Jay, his tallies of 38.3 bWAR and 36.2 fWAR are both the best in franchise history among position players, with only Dave Stieb and Roy Halladay ahead of him overall.
We at MLB Trade Rumors salute Bautista on an incredibly special career and wish him the best in all his post-playing endeavors.
Images courtesy of USA Today Sports.
I feel like there was a curse on both Odor and Bautista after Odor cleaned Bautista’s clock. After that, they were both terrible players.
How could a guy named Odor not stink?
Old – I think the first person Joey Bats will thank when he’s added to the “Level o’ Excellence” will be Dr. Tony Galea … and Double E might be there too, smiling right next to Joey.
odor was decent at best in Hof 1st couple of years. he was never any good
odor was decent at best in his 1st couple of years. he was never any good. I’m a Rangers fan and never had a problem with the bat flip but the Rangers did. I was at the game where odor hit Bautista in the face at 2nd base and cleared the benches. I never did get my steak and carrot cake that day.
I guess no Bautista-Odor rematch as promised, on PPV?That’s too bad. .
Im jays fan and odor, as small as he his took no crap imo, when joey bats squares up on him in a kinda wat are u gonna do boy type deal, odor went BOOM, Joey didnt swing back. I love joey Bats but i want ppl who are bullysled to look at this situation and realize most bullys are that way until you stamd up for your self. Im not saying Joey is or was a bully but im that 1 min scenario it played out that way
Bautista pushed him and odor clocked him right away. That was the entire fight as Adrian beltre grabbed him and pulled bautista out of the fight. Bautista didn’t go down like Tim Anderson. He ate the punch.
The way Tim Anderson squared off and put his dukes up my 7th grader could’ve knocked him out. And she’s a cheerleader
Rogund “The Stench” Odor.
I was at that Bautista game, it still gives me chills reading this. Was on a high for days after. Best spectator sports moment I ever attended.
Was funny to not even know about the bat flip until after the game since we were obviously all watching the ball not Bautista.
Darren – You need to attend more sporting events!
Off the top of my head, I was in attendance in Yankee Stadium 10/20/04 and I was in attendance in Busch Stadium II 10/27/04 and I was in attendance in The Trop 03/29/99 and I was in attendance in Oriole Park 04/04/01 and 10/06/01.
So many more I could name, good times!
I had season tickets to the Rangers from 2011 until 2019 and still can’t remember as many games as you can. lol
Those would have been great years for Rangers season tickets!
Well, since you question it, I was at a Verlander no-hitter, at a Twins World Series, Encarnacion’s wild card win, even at a forfeited game in LA because the threw ball day balls at the ump (not a great game, but VERY memorable) and have been to about 500 baseball games in total.
But nothing tops that October 2015 classic for and likely nothing ever will…
Darren – Glad to hear!
The forfeit is why teams have switched to giving out souvenirs when fans exit the stadium instead of enter, if the give-away can be used as a projectile.
I can’t say I’ve ever been to a forfeited game. LOL!
I was at Yankee Stadium in 1979. Saw Reggie hit one out. Best baseball memory.
LOL. Almost five years since his last PA and his retirement is just announced. =}
I know this article is really a recounting of Bautista’s major league career and it might also seem strange to not mention in that sort of article that he is either retiring or retired. Also, I imagine there is probably little urgency to announce a retirement in major league baseball.
Read the first sentence, it’s his retirement to announce.
Look you bell end. I’m not denying anyone’s rights to announce their retirement. I found amusement in the he situation is all. Are you one of those people that thinks someone is denying your right to an opinion because they verbally disagree with you? My last two sentences should have made that abundantly clear.
Definition of insufferable lol
Actually the urgency to announce your retirement is that you won’t be on the hall of fame ballot for so long until AFTER you’ve officially retired. But for players that likely won’t make it, there’s not as much urgency if they wish to keep thinking of a comeback.
I believe the countdown begins after you played your last game, regardless of an official announcement. I’m not sure it really matters – players who are good enough to be first balloters don’t usually leave the game by fading away like Bautista did.
Grats on a fine career Joey Bats!
Just in. Mickey Mantle to retire.
Odor should pick on someone his own size, like Timmy A. (Jackie)
That really was an Epic Bat flip….but man it pissed off so many people at the time, lol. I liked it though, cool moment.
He will go down as one of the most efficiently paid players of all time for his production year over year.
Good thing he didn’t get that 6 year/$150M deal or whatever it was he had been demanding.
Wouldn’t be such a rosy pictured career if that had come to pass.
Having flashbacks of Vernon Wells contract…
@Trillionaire: For whom was not getting that contract a good thing? Certainly not for him.
He got his Booster Juice money.
Good thing he didn’t get that 6 year/$150M deal or whatever it was he had been demanding.
===========================
I still remember that. He said he wasn’t going to give the Jays “another home-town discount”. I remember thinking that the $150M was about triple what he was worth. He was 36 and declining. He had a 1.2 bWAR and was 1-2 steps away from retirement.
Somebody, maybe Jose himself, was thinking this thru.
I remember hearing people call in to 590 and say they should sign him to a blank cheque and all these other ridiculous takes. Guy is out of the league basically a year later. But nobody ever holds dumb fans accountable.
For all the crap the jays management endured by not signing Joey bats, Edwin and Donaldson the fans should be kissing the bottoms of their feet every time they see those guys in public. One for saving the memories of those guys. Jose struggling for years at the end of that contract the fans wanted him signed to would have tainted his career same with Edwin.
Jays management has certainly had some misses but not signing those 3 to extensions were the best 3 decisions that nobody thought were good ideas at the time. The jays were never going to be competitive in 2017 and 18.
Once he signs that contract, Ross Atkins isn’t going to let him out of it – this is actually his master plan to acquire a bat after the deadline….
Nailed it… and nobody seems to know that Joey has been taking the last few years to learn how to swing lefty.
And Pitch.
Although the Jays don’t need that ATM.
Rather watch Jose take cuts from the left side than Varsho right now
Ooooof that trade hurts currently
Hopefully Jose rubs off on Varsho and he has a similar trajectory
I don’t understand why fans are ragging on Varsho when his defence makes up for any shortcomings with the bat. Gurriel obp is .306.
Got a guy who’s a much better defender and who bats left handed.
Moreno just didn’t fit the timeline for the jays. Hard to intergrate a young catcher when you think your team is a World Series contender.
Jays management has talked about getting a more balance lineup since 2016 and they’ve finally achieved it in 2023. Those 15,16 teams were shutdown by good bullpens because it was easy to match up high velo Rh RP against them because they didn’t have any lefty bats. And they still need a lefty bat in the middle of the order.
Not a Blue Jays fan, but that 3-run homerun in Game 5 of the ALDS against the Rangers, is one of the most exciting moments in baseball I have ever seen. That whole game was electrifying, and an awesome bat-flip to air out all the frustration the Blue Jays were going throughout that game. Fantastic career with a lot of memorable moments.
Nice writeup on Bautista. Had forgotten just how good he was for a stretch.
King of the bat flips.
He owes his career to Cito Gaston, who told him to sell out for HRs and not worry about hitting the ball to all fields.
Congratulations Jose, you deserve to be on the Level of Excellence
Edwin and his Parrot should be next
Love the context on the bat flip. Good write-up!
How much was the 1-day contract for?
24 hours
How much did he get paid? League minimum?
These 1-Dayers are “honorary” contracts for no money.
Cuppa joe and a pat on the back.
$1MM
$1 Multi-Million.
Injustice Cito is not in the HOF , hello veteran’s committee!
What’s his justification? The rings?
Certainly rings are part of the equation.
At least you ask the question, which is good. Even if one doesn’t agree , Cito deserves a conversation. Just my opinion. We all know about opinions 🙂
Two rings and a very good hitting coach is enough. Cito should be in.
Legend. Imagine if he signed a massive contract that ran through 2023 though like Cabrera. He’d probably still be playing to today.
You meant the 2015 AL Division Series, which has always been a best-of-5 series, while the Wild Card Game/Series has never been a best-of-5 series.
What an inning
I thought Odor retired him years ago
@givehimtheheater
He did. He wasn’t the same after that incident but just played out his contract.
Neither was Odor. Rougie is just 29-30 and he’s been on multiple teams with OPS that averages around .620. Nowhere near his .790OPS he had before he hit Bautista.
That was an Epic Bat Flip….it ticked off so many people at the time lol. I liked it though, cool moment.
I remember a lot of comments back in the day regarding PEDs because he came out of nowhere. Anyone have thoughts on this subject now?
Wats-Jose just went to the gym every day in the off-season and bulked up.He must have gained 20-25 pounds of muscle.
There would be no other explanation,would there?
he never gained 10-25 pounds of muscle in 1 offseason. not true at all
Bautista didn’t look super jacked like he was on roids honestly
Go look at his production in 2009. He made a tweak to his approach at the plate late in the summer. From March-August he hit 3 HR in 279 PA. In September he hit 10 HR in 125 PA. That’s the same HR rate he showed in 2010.
The change didn’t happen in the offseason, it happened overnight in 2009.
A “tweak,” as you call it, normally doesn’t take a below average player and turn him into the best player in MLB.
He added a leg kick in September 2009 (he hit 10 home runs that month, 13 the entire season). He hit 54 the next season, and yeah
He actually lost 10-15 lbs (according to height/weight reports on rosters) between 2009 and 2010 because they wanted him to play more OF than 3B
If he did juice, it was before then (not an impossibility; hell I’ve juiced)
I believe he juiced, no question. Do I have proof? Of course not. Sometimes it’s not needed. Look at Piazza or Ivan Rodriguez, just to pick a couple of roided-up catchers. Sometimes you just know.
disagree 100%. he never got bigger and all aspects of his hitting improved. Juice won’t give you a better on-base %. The tweak in his approach and swing was clearly visible at the time of his improvement.
Actually, it does. It not only improves your focus, the fact that you are now hitting bombs makes pitchers pitch more carefully to you. Look at Bonds. His OBP went up greatly when he started juicing.
Brian- You could be right but I remember seeing him in a Pirates uniform then a Jays uniform and he looked bigger to me.The photos that I just looked at on the internet in a Jays uniform did not show him as big as I remember.
He could have a higher OBP because pitchers pitch around hitters with 54 home runs.
And the tweaks that he made in his batting stance and swing should have become commonplace throughout the league if they alone made that big of a difference.
The only thing that the average fan knows less about baseball is steroids.
I have mixed feelings about this guy. His breakout was undoubtedly unprecedented. Loved his power and personality. However, I felt his bat flip during the 2015 ALDS. Loathed it. I’m a Rangers fan don’t know what to say to him. I wish him best of luck in retirement, but this is half-hearted coming from me.
If you get offended by a baseball player flipping a bat I think you should watch horse racing instead
I’m okay with bat flips now. But back then I was hella pissed and angry bout that show.
I agree Yanks.
So you’re telling me I’m the wrong one here? Fine. Blame me for this. I’m not surprised to get blamed by others anyway.
If I would be toxic online just like Richard Schenck’s Teacherman86, then I would.
All I’m saying is that it’s part of the game now. That’s what you’re saying, too, right? But I get it that you didn’t like it at first. Neither did I.
He was just waiting for someone to get hit worse than him. So thank you Tim Anderson, Joey Bats can finally move on with his life.
I think he should be in the HOF
@Yanks2
Maybe the HOF of guys who got their clocks cleaned?
Blue Jays HOF…for sure. National HOF, not a chance. He was very good for a six year period, but he got started too late for any real national HOF consideration. He’ll probably get a couple of vote on his one and only ballot and then sail off into history.
No chance. He was fearsome for six seasons, but did so little before and after that at best he belongs in the Hall of Pretty Good. Lou Whitaker had double the lifetime WAR as Joey Bats and he’s not in the HOF (yet).
loved him when he was with the Jays but disagree with this. His peak was just too short to be considered HOF worthy
I can’t agree with this take Yanks. No way.
Hall of very good!
I’m guessing this is a joke because I said the same thing on another thread lol
Elvis Andrus’ role in that drama gets forgotten.
He had a front row set to the two both that brawl and the Ramirez/Anderson brawl
I remember him hitting 54 homers and the next year having an OPS+ over 180 personally. And helping my fantasy team especially. I also remember him for being a bit full of himself and seeming like a bit of a jerk.
Oh he was a massive d-bag. He blocked me on Twitter for liking a reply.
I have been a lifelong rays fan but man I love those couple years of the blue jays… with Jose, EE, Tulo, Donaldson,price…. They were so fun to watch and sucked to play against
Just like Tim Anderson won’t be known for his walk off HR in the field of dreams game. He’ll be known for getting rekt by Jose Ramirez 🙂
Well that’s because Anderson never hit 54 homers or had anywhere near the bat of Bautista in general. Similarly Jose Ramirez is not gonna be remembered for K-Oing Anderson but for being great.
Jose Ramirez is a king. Glad he chose to stay with Cleveland tbh.
One fell, the other didn’t.
What’s that Odor?
Joey bats hasn’t played in 5 years, what was he waiting on?
A contract offer, obviously.
Speaking of Odor, Bautista’s initials are JAB. Heh.
Caught lighting in a big bottle but no world series ring.
One of the most impressive parts of his game for me was his eye and ability to rise to the competition level.
He hit good pitching and did damage consistently
Amazing Hitter. That high leg kick became a trademark. And the explosion of homers out of the blue put the franchise on the map, which still has legs to this day. Great Career.
One thing I haven’t seen mentioned. When I first saw Jose start to get semi regular playing time. .. I was always impressed with his tools , arm , fielding , latent power , but over and above all that. .. he had a baseball intellect, always threw to the right base , knew when to throw or not , cut off guys. ran the bases well , his OF positioning, fielding at 3b. You can see he was smart guy. As we all find out. Well spoken intelligent took care of himself.
Steve will bring him back for old timers day
Jose really had a solid career. What a shame that many will remember him from getting punched in the face.. Cleveland fans will no doubt recall the “shaking in his boots” comment from the 2016 ALCS.
I had forgotten that. What a stupid thing to say. Not as stupid as turning down $150M at age 36, but still.
Congratulations JB into the hall of very good! You stuck it out and exceeded beyond 95 percent of the players in MLB!
Bautista is the opposite of a humble person. Enjoy your retirement Joey Bighead.
Sorry , wrong , if you’ve ever heard him speak , now and in his prime then , was always about the other guys , the team , even now only talks about how various folks helped him. Cocky , maybe arrogant , confident , yes. But he was always humble.Big difference. Never hear him say I’m great , I did this , etc etc.
Great player, probably a HoFer if he figured it out earlier. I too figured he was a PED guy, but as time went on I found it harder to assume such. Just gotta respect the dedication to the craft.