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Blue Jays icon José Bautista turned 44 on Saturday

Originally posted on Bluejaysnation | By Ryley Delaney | Last updated Oct 19, 2024 8:21 PM ET

A Toronto Blue Jays icon turned 44 on Saturday.

José Bautista celebrates his 44th birthday on Saturday, so it seems fitting to celebrate the Blue Jays legend’s career.

Bautista was selected in the 20th round of the 2000 draft by the Pittsburgh Pirates out of Chipola Junior College, the same school Bowden Francis would later attend. His first big league season was in 2004, spending time between the Pirates, Kansas City Royals, Tampa Bay Devil Rays, and Baltimore Orioles.

He returned to the Pirates, where he would remain until late August, as the Blue Jays traded Robinzon Díaz for Bautista, who at that point, was a 27-year-old journeyman.

The 2009 season was rather tame for Bautista, who hit 13 home runs to post a wRC+ above 100 (102) for the first time in his career. It was the 2010 season where Bautista broke out though, hitting a league-high 54 home runs in 683 plate appearances for a 165 wRC+.

In terms of wRC+, Bautista was even better the following season, slashing .302/.447/.608 with 43 home runs for 180 wRC+. Over the next few seasons, Bautista continued to produce at not just an All-Star level, but an MVP candidate level.

In 2015, Bautista slashed .250/377/.536 with 40 home runs in 666 plate appearances, with a 16.5 BB% and a 15.9 K% for a 148 wRC+. For the first time in his career, he made the postseason with the Jays, hitting what is the second-most memorable home run in franchise history.

9 years ago today, Jose Bautista gave us this iconic bat flip pic.twitter.com/q7lBXB8dz5

— FOX Sports: MLB (@MLBONFOX) October 14, 2024

The 2015 season was Bautista’s last as an All-Star and MVP candidate, but he had a successful season in 2016 where he slashed .234/.366/.452 with 22 home runs in 517 plate appearances as the Blue Jays made the postseason for the second consecutive season. Sadly, they once again lost in the American League Championship Series.

Bautista’s final season with the Blue Jays was in 2017, where he slashed .203/.308/.366 with 23 home runs as a 36-year-old. He was evidently on the decline and the Blue Jays decided not to re-sign him, with Bautista playing his final season in the big leagues in 2018, playing for the Atlanta Braves, New York Mets, and Philadelphia Phillies.

After the 2018 season, Bautista took the 2019 season off and looked to return in 2020. Bautista even started pitching in the 2019-20 off-season but denied rumours he wanted to attempt to pitch in the big leagues. Sadly, Bautista never played another game at the professional level, signing a one-day deal with the Jays on August 11. A day later, the Jays held a ceremony as he became the 11th player on the Level of Excellence.

What a great career Bautista had.

This article first appeared on Bluejaysnation and was syndicated with permission.

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