Jose Bautista played for eight different teams throughout his 15-year MLB career, but there’s only one uniform with which Toronto Blue Jays fans will forever associate him.
The Blue Jays organization felt the same way. The team signed Bautista to a one-day contract on Friday to allow him to officially retire as a Blue Jay.
After his final game with Toronto in 2017, Bautista split time playing for three different teams in 2018. Bautista’s last official MLB game was with the Philadelphia Phillies in September of 2018. He finished his career with a batting average of .247, 344 homers and 975 RBI in 1,798 games.
“I think everybody knew for a while that I had been retired, but this is a way to make it official,” said Bautista following the signing, via the Associated Press.
The contract signing went down before Bautista’s official induction into the franchise's Level of Excellence on Saturday. Bautista is set to become the 11th player inducted, joining the likes of Joe Carter, Dave Stieb and Roy Halladay.
Bautista played 10 seasons in Toronto. During that span, he was named an All-Star six times and garnered MVP votes in four different seasons. Bautista also owns one of the most iconic bat flips in MLB history.
Before his final season with the Blue Jays began in 2017, Bautista stated his desire to finish out his career in Toronto. The Dominican slugger got his wish six years later.
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