(Toronto) Jose Bautista believes the 2015 and 2016 seasons for the Blue Jays gave him the best moments of a career where he signed several highlights.
On the other hand, it still hurts to think back to how the American championship series ended in 2015, against the Kansas City Royals.
As the ceremony marking his entry into the Toronto club’s circle of honor approached, the retired slugger remembered the decade spent with the Blue Jays.
“You could say 2015 slipped away from us,” said Bautista, who now lives near Tampa as a full-time dad to four daughters.
“With all the additions we made at the trade deadline, we were on fire in the second half. We won so many games at the end of the season.
“In 2016, there were injuries. By chatting with guys over time, it confirmed to me that our best opportunity was in 2015. It was very pleasant, despite the disappointment at the end. I have never had so much fun playing baseball. »
With Kansas City leading the series 3-2, Bautista tied the game 3-3 in Game 6 with his second homer of the day, in Game 8. The Royals, however, scored the decisive point at the end of the inning.
In the ninth, Toronto had runners on the ends and no outs, failing to even the score or extract a victory.
In the previous series, against the Texas Rangers, Bautista slammed his famous seventh-inning three-run homer in Game 6 to give the Rangers a 6-3 lead in the deciding game. .
Before going around the paths, he threw his stick away in a legendary way.
A Bautista bobblehead will also freeze the moment in history on Saturday at the Rogers Center.
The surely highly sought-after item will be given to the first 20,000 followers.
Before the game against the Chicago Cubs, there will also be a ceremony to celebrate Bautista’s time with the Jays.
“It generated a lot of conversations and interviews and just casual chats with the fans,” the 42-year-old said of that stick throw. It’s a very nice memory.
“That’s the kind of time we play baseball for. »
At the time of Tuesday’s conference call, the famous baton was near Bautista, in the office of his residence.
Bautista was acquired from Pittsburgh for Robinzon Diaz on August 21, 2008.
Bautista represented the Blue Jays in six All-Star Games. He set the team record for homers in a season with 54, in 2010. He led the major leagues in long pitches that year and also in 2011, with 43.
Bautista hit 288 homers in a Toronto uniform, trailing only Carlos Delgado’s 336.
In 15 years (2004-2018), Bautista totaled 344 guns, 975 RBI and 1496 hits. He also played with the Rays, Royals, Orioles, Mets, Braves and Phillies.
Bautista said he was very proud to have been part of a group that brought Toronto back to the title contenders.
Prior to 2015, the Jays hadn’t made the playoffs since 1993, the year they won the World Series for the second straight time.
“We’ve rekindled the passion for a club that’s loved not just in Toronto, but across Canada,” he concluded.