THANKS, TORONTO!
Bautista thanks Toronto before he returns to the majors with Atlanta
Ex-Blue Jay Jose Bautista shows his appreciation to the fans,
Hours before Jose Bautista returned to the big leagues as a member of the Atlanta Braves, the 37-year-old veteran sent one last thank you to Toronto.
Bautista, who signed a minorleague deal with former Blue Jays general manager Alex Anthopoulos’ new club in late April, was pencilled into the fifth spot in the Braves’ order Friday against San Francisco. The third baseman doubled in his first at-bat.
Bautista hit .256 with a .768 OPS in 12 minor-league games before being recalled.
And he penned an essay titled “Thank You, Toronto” in The Players’ Tribune.
“We teamed up for 10 seasons — and it’s crazy how they flew by,” Bautista wrote. “Those 10 seasons meant everything to me. Decades in life really don’t get any sweeter.”
Bautista thanked the franchise for giving him “a real chance, to come in and prove myself” despite arriving as a part-time player who was closer to 30 than 20 .
He also thanked the city of Toronto for taking him in as one of their own. Growing up, Bautista said, he only dreamed of making the major leagues. With the Blue Jays, he got more than he bargained for.
“You don’t even think to dream that one day you’re going to look up, into a stadium full of people, and thousands and thousands of fans will be shouting your name, and wearing your jersey, and treating you like — you’re not just ‘one of the guys’ — you’re one of their guys,” he said. “But that actually happened to me. I really did get to experience that. And it was magic.”
Blue Jays outfielder Kevin Pillar, who played with Bautista for half his tenure in Toronto, was happy to see his former teammate back in the major leagues.
“Happy to see my friend @JoeyBats19 back where he belongs!” Pillar wrote on Twitter. “This man is hungry and motivated ... NL watch out!!”