Blue Jays: Jose Bautista returns to the house he helped build

Former Toronto Blue Jays outfielder Jose Bautista returns to the house he helped build for the past decade as the New York Mets are in town to take on the hometown Jays for a two-game set.

Love him or hate him but there is denying that Jose Bautista put baseball back on the map north of the border and Blue Jays fans will undoubtedly pay their respects tonight as the slugger steps into the batter’s box for his first at-bat.

Joey Bats epitomized clutch and still lays claim to being responsible for uniting a nation with a single bat flip. The home runs, the swagger and his off-field contributions in the community are just a few of the reasons that Bautista was the bearded face of the franchise for nearly ten years.

However tonight, Bautista will be seated in the first base dugout in enemy territory as the Mets do battle with the Blue Jays. It will be a little surreal to witness Bautista in Mets pinstripes while playing in his familiar right field although Bautista has played more left field than right since joining New York.

The always pragmatic John Gibbons knocked it out of the park when asked by reporters if he thought Bautista would receive a loud standing ovation from the Blue Jays faithful. Gibby quipped “Well, Ryan Goins got one.”

Asked if he expects Jose Bautista to get a loud ovation tomorrow, manager John Gibbons noted "well, Ryan Goins got one..."

Gibbons said he'll applaud longtime Jays star. #BlueJays likely to have some sort of tribute for Bautista when he returns as a member of the #Mets
— Ben Nicholson-Smith (@bnicholsonsmith) July 2, 2018