Bautista worked to keep baseball

NEW YORK — While other players were prepping for this season at spring training, Jose Bautista was on his own.

A six-time All-Star without a big league job, Bautista remained eager to catch on somewhere and knew he needed to be resourceful. So to stay in game shape, the 37-year-old slugger spent his days back home in Florida hopping from gym workouts to local ballfields.

Sometimes he ended up at the University of Tampa or Tampa Catholic High School. Wherever he could find an empty diamond to hit and do defensive drills.

“I was trying to mimic somewhat the same program,” said Bautista, who has quickly become a rare bright spot for the New York Mets this year. “I mean, it wasn’t the easiest thing.”

His agent helped him scrounge up batting-practice pitchers to simulate game situations as best they could. High school kids, college players, other free agents looking for work.

Bautista figures he got about 30 “at-bats” or so in April, when the regular season was already underway for everyone else. All the while, the former Toronto Blue Jays star waited for a new opportunity.

“Yeah, different fields. Whatever was available and whatever people could get to,” he said.

After struggling through a 12-game stint with the Atlanta Braves in May, mostly at third base, Bautista has hardly missed a thing since arriving in New York.

He has an .894 OPS over 36 games and has already batted in every spot for the Mets besides ninth.