(Toronto) Former power hitter Jose Bautista has signed a one-day contract to hang up his glove as a member of the Toronto Blue Jays.
The Blue Jays announced the news on Friday. Bautista, 42, will be honored Saturday before the game against the Chicago Cubs. His name will then be added to the team’s ring of honor.
Bautista and Blue Jays president Mark Shapiro signed the contract in front of the media on Friday afternoon. The two agreed that this moment should have happened a long time ago, but the pandemic delayed everything.
“I think everyone has known for a long time that I was retired, but this is a way to make it official,” said Bautista, accompanied by his wife and children for the press conference at Rogers Center . There’s no better way to make it official than to go back to Toronto and sign that one-day deal. »
Bautista has played for eight teams in 15 major league seasons. His last game dates back to the 2018 season, with the Philadelphia Phillies. In 1,798 career games, he batted .247 with 344 home runs and 975 RBIs.
Bautista will be added to the circle of honor at the Rogers Center in a pre-game ceremony on Saturday afternoon, while his family members and several former teammates will be there.
Starting pitcher Marcus Stroman will certainly be present, he who is now a member of the Chicago Cubs, visiting Toronto this weekend.
“It took too long to happen,” Shapiro said. It should have happened a few years ago, but I’m happy to be here today. I can’t think of a player who should retire as a Jays more than Bautista. »
He was excellent in the Blue Jays organization, as then-team manager Cito Gaston and batting coach Dwayne Murphy took an interest in him and made Bautista a hitter. more efficient.
“These two people have certainly worked a lot with me behind the set,” added Bautista. It took almost a year after my trade to get regular game time. »
The athlete was traded from the Pirates to the Blue Jays in 2008, when Robinson Diaz was heading to Pittsburgh.
He settled in after joining the Blue Jays in 2008, becoming one of the most fearsome hitters in the Majors. He hit 288 homers in 10 seasons with the Jays, including 54 in 2010, which is a team record.
Bautista is best known for throwing his stick after hitting a resounding three-run homer that broke a seventh-inning deadlock in Game 5 of the Division Series between the Jays and Texas Rangers in 2015.