Let's Celebrate Jose Bautista
Jose Bautista is set to return to the major leagues today as the Atlanta Braves starting third baseman. Even though he is no longer a Blue Jay, I think most fans are hopeful that he can find some success with Atlanta. It was difficult to see the Blue Jays legend struggle on both sides of the ball last season, but perhaps he still has some magic left in his bat. Whether he can have one more strong season, or not, shouldn't take away from what he accomplished with Toronto. He had a career that is worth celebrating, no matter how it ends.
Bautista finished his time with the Blue Jays as the team's franchise leader in position player fWAR. Arguably, no hitter in team history has done more to help the Toronto Blue Jays win baseball games. In a little more than 9 seasons with the Blue Jays Bautista produced 35.7 fWAR. His 288 home runs rank second to Carlos Delgado.
Bautista wasn't just great by Blue Jays standards. Over the past decade he was one of the game's best hitters, period. His 14.8% walk rate over the past 10 seasons ranks fourth in baseball among players with at least 4000 plate appearances. Since joining the Blue Jays in August 2008 only 3 players have hit more home runs. Based on Fangraphs' OFF stat, Bautista has produced the 9th most offensive value in baseball in the past 10 seasons. He also ranks 14th in position player fWAR.
Not only was Bautista a great player, the narrative around his was also spectacular. When he arrived in Toronto he was a career journeyman who showed promise, but had yet to do anything special. Unless you count setting a major league record for numbers of teams in one season when in 2004 he was part of 5 different organizations. He saw playing time with 4 different teams and was also briefly a part of the Mets organization, but didn't see the majors with them. Still, he had a bit of pop, could draw a walk and could play a few different positions on the diamond so Toronto took a chance on him. As everyone now knows, a swing change unlocked monster power and he set a new record for biggest home run increase from one season to another. If the story had ended there it still would have been remarkable. But Bautista had more magic left. Following his 54 home run outburst in 2010 Bautista had an even better season and finished third in AL MVP voting. Personally, I still think he was robbed. All told, he had 4 top 10 MVP finishes while with the Blue Jays.
The biggest moment was saved for the playoffs. Who could forget the infamous bat flip? That 7th inning of the 2015 ALCS was already a classic by the time Bautista stepped to the plate. When he launched that home run and flipped his bat into orbit he made that inning the most exciting inning in baseball history. I've never been so excited while watching baseball. You instantly knew that was going to be a moment that you would see on highlight reels for the rest of your life.
Bautista changed the game of baseball. His high leg kick and fly ball approach inspired countless hitters after him. The current launch angle revolution arguably began with Bautista. It's unlikely that Bautista will make the hall of fame, but few players made a bigger impact on the game than he did over the past 10 seasons.
All good things must come to an end, but as Jays fans we should take this time to appreciate just how lucky we were to have the one they call Joey Bats. He revitalized baseball in Toronto. His emergence as an elite slugger opened up a window to win. He was an integral part of the two most exciting Blue Jays seasons in over 20 years. Whatever he accomplishes in Atlanta won't diminish what he achieved in Toronto. Hopefully he still has something left in the tank so Atlanta fans can get a little taste of what we were so fortunate to witness for the past decade.
