DUNEDIN, FLA.—At one point in the not-too-distant past, Jose Bautista was the face of the Blue Jays — with fans, MLB and in the Caribbean.
Canadian pro sports suffered the same old stigmas back then. On the field, the Jays were mediocre. The Rogers Centre was half full and morgue-quiet. Throw in customs, taxes, etc., and it was a struggle to attract free agents, or even players with a no-trade clause. So it was that Bautista and former GM Alex Anthopoulos became a reluctant sales team for the Jays.
But those days are gone. Now, the Jays are just looking for offensive production from Joey Bats.
After a disappointing free-agent winter, Bautista reluctantly returned to the Jays. He waited and watched in frustration as the market settled in and one-dimensional power hitters — he does not consider himself one — were passed over.
There may have been a perception that he’s injury prone following two incidents, both a little bit freakish, that worked against him in 2016.
“I was trying to make baseball plays both times,” Bautista said. “One time I ran into the wall (in Philadelphia). The other one, my cleat got caught in the turf. I can’t explain it. Those kinds of things (can) happen to anybody on the field. It’s just unfortunate it happened to me. I don’t think I could have done anything different.”
The 36-year-old Dominican slugger has posted impressive numbers since his breakout with 54 homers in 2010. For seven seasons in a row, he hit at least 22 homers, a total of 249 over that span. He played just 116 games in 2016, but still managed respectable power and production. Does he see himself as injury prone?
“I didn’t know that was the perception,” Bautista said. “Again, I’m here to play. I’m here to have a healthy season, have fun, enjoy my teammates and try to win games. I have my things that motivate me, but I can’t say that proving people wrong is one of those. There are always people that need to be proven wrong in every player situation, when it comes to different aspects of the game. If you focus on that, you’re probably going to get a little distracted. I’ve had the same things since I was a little boy playing, and they are the same things that motivate me today.”
Bautista takes pride in his physical conditioning, as he leans out over his skis on the downslope of his career. Perhaps just one healthy, productive season — given his opt out after 2017 — is all it will take for a second chance to correct the unfulfilled promise of what would be a final contract bonanza.
“It’s something that I don’t want to spend too much time on,” Bautista said of predictions for 2017. “It’s something that I’ve learned over the past few years, that it makes no difference. It’s not what you say, what you do and how you feel so much. It’s more about what happens on the field. Let’s just hope for a healthy season.”
Back to the leadership aspect, at the 2015 trade deadline new players and fresh hope arrived for the Jays. After two years of playoffs, players rave about the enthusiasm of the Rogers Centre crowds. Even opposing players see how well Toronto fans travel and take over ballparks, how the Jays are not just a city but a country. As long as the team continues to compete hard, it’s recruitment is ongoing.
The bottom line is, Bautista is no longer expected to be a total package of player and ambassador. While he was thinking about pending free agency, and with the departure of Anthopoulos, Troy Tulowitzki, Josh Donaldson and Russ Martin began to take over the clubhouse as voices of the Jays. The shift has been very subtle, enough so that Bautista can claim nothing has changed with him.
“I think that’s a question better asked by my teammates, and the coaches and the leadership of the team,” Bautista said. “Again, that’s another one of those questions that I can’t really do too much or say too much about, how I feel and what I think. It doesn’t really change anything.”
One thing that changed was the market for free agents, especially power hitters including Bautista, Edwin Encarnacion and Mark Trumbo of the Orioles. Given the disappointment of being back with the Jays for far less than he expected, Bautista was asked if, in hindsight, he’d change anything about 2016 — a season in which he volunteered to bat leadoff for the good of the team. Consider that in 40 games hitting first, he batted .239 with nine homers, 22 RBIs and an on-base plus slugging mark of .800. But in the three-hole or cleanup, Bautista hit 12 homers with 42 RBIs and an .869 OPS.
“I’ll do whatever it takes to win,” Bautista said. “I’ve proven that not only last year but throughout my career, just trying to do what the manager thinks is best and playing whatever position needs to be played. If things need to be shaken up. I don’t mind being the guy that gets sacrificed and moved around a little bit.
“If that plays into what the team believes is our best opportunity to win on any given night, I’m going to continue to do that. I just like to win. If being a trooper and taking the hit for the guys is something that I need to do from time to time, I don’t mind doing it.”
If he is disappointed with the outcome of his free agency, Bautista is doing a solid job of covering up, and an unofficial poll of Jays fans indicates that a majority of them are glad he’s back.
A big season would heal all wounds.
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