Induction a reminder of Bautista's impact on Blue Jays

Jose Bautista will go from icon to inductee this weekend, which works as a reminder of what the former slugger has meant to the Toronto Blue Jays franchise.

Bautista will headline the 2025 class of Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame inductees who will be honored at Saturday's ceremony in St. Mary's, Ontario. The Blue Jays great will be enshrined alongside former major-league pitcher Erik Bedard, Canadian Junior National Team head coach Greg Hamilton, Women's National Team star Amanda Asay, All-American Girls Professional Baseball League legend Arleene Noga, and Gerry Snyder, the Montreal city councilor who played a crucial role in bringing Major League Baseball to Canada.

Saturday's induction will be a crowning achievement for a player who was important for the growth of baseball in Canada, and the increased popularity of the country's lone MLB team. After two decades of life in the baseball wilderness, it was Bautista and his surprise 54-home run season in 2010 that put the franchise back on the road to relevance. Bautista followed that up by smashing 43 home runs in 2011, to lead the majors in back-to-back seasons, capturing the Hank Aaron Awards both years as the top hitter in the American League.

During the 2010s, the Blue Jays brought in players like Jose Reyes, Edwin Encarnacion, Josh Donaldson, and Troy Tulowitzki, but even with all of the moves the team made during this time, the Blue Jays were still seen as Bautista's team. He had become the most visible Blue Jay across the league. For example, in two of his six All-Star Game appearances, Bautista was the top vote-getter in all of baseball, topping players like Mike Trout and Derek Jeter.

Bautista played a huge part in helping the Blue Jays end a 22-year postseason drought with a division title and a trip to the American League Championship Series in 2015. That included a Division Series win, highlighted by Bautista's dramatic, "bat flip" home run in the winner-take-all Game 5 that propelled Toronto to victory. That was the first taste of postseason glory for the Blue Jays and their fans since Joe Carter 'touched them all' in the fall of 1993. Heck, an argument could be made the bat flip homer run helped save baseball in general.

The three-time Silver Slugger Award winner spent 10 years with the Blue Jays, finishing in the team's top ten in virtually every offensive category. Bautista's 288 home runs as a Blue Jay are second in franchise history, as are his 790 runs and 803 walks. He is fourth with a career .372 on-base percentage, third with a .506 slugging percentage, and second with an .878 OPS. Fittingly, in wins above replacement, Bautista is the franchise leader for hitters with a 38.4 bWAR, trailing two other franchise cornerstones; Dave Stieb and Roy Halladay.

It was certainly a tenure no one thought possible back in August 2008, when the Pittsburgh Pirates traded Bautista to Toronto for a player to be named later (Robinzon Diaz). Bautista was a utility player who had bounced around the majors until he arrival in Canada. Manager Cito Gaston made Bautista an everyday player in September 2009, and he responded with eight home runs that month.

In his final game at Rogers Centre on Sept. 24, 2017, Bautista was removed from the game with one out in the ninth inning. As number 19 jogged in from right field to be replaced by Ezequiel Carrera, fans gave "Joey Bats" a standing ovation. The entire day felt like a goodbye to Bautista, highlighted by starter Marcus Stroman's insistence on wearing Bautista's black "Jays" jersey during his pregame warmups.

Bautista bounced around the majors in 2018, but couldn't find a new home. He helped his native Dominican Republic win a bronze medal in the 2020 Olympics, but it was clear his time on the field had ended. Bautista signed a one-day contract to retire as a Blue Jay, and in August 2023 he became the 11th member of the Toronto Blue Jays Level of Excellence.

In an interview on MLB Network, Bautista said he was humbled by the induction, and noted the special bond he has with Blue Jay fans. Today, it is not uncommon to see a "Bautista 19" jersey at Rogers Centre or somewhere nearby in the city. After all, there is a mural on a building at Spadina Avenue and Oxley Street in Toronto commemorating "The Bat Flip."

Bautista built that bond with Blue Jays fans through his performance on the field, and his work off of it. The slugger was active in charity and provided many memorable fan interactions. So, it's only fitting that Jose Bautista will now be forever linked with baseball in Canada with his Hall of Fame induction.