Jose Bautista, Right Field


Date of Birth: 10/19/1980
Birthplace: Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic
Nickname: Joey Bats

Jose Bautista, right fielder, was first drafted by the Pittsburgh Pirates in 2000. He played in the minor leagues from 2001 to 2003 and then was drafted by the Baltimore Orioles. In 2004, he played in just 16 games for the Orioles, who placed him on waivers in June. The Tampa Bay Rays claimed him off waivers and he played in just 12 games with them before they sold him to the Kansas City Royals. The Royals, like all the teams before them, used Bautista for just 13 games and then traded him to the New York Mets. He never played for the Mets and they traded him back to the Pirates. Bautista ended the 2004 season playing in 23 games for the Pirates and, in total, he played that season in 64 games for four teams.

Bautista spent most of the 2005 season in the minors, playing in just 11 games with the Pirates. The following season, he played in 117 games with fair results, batting just .235, with 94 hits, 20 doubles, and 16 home runs. The following season was slightly better for Bautista but not good enough for the Pirates to keep him. He was traded in August, 2008 to the Toronto Blue Jays. In his first five seasons in the major leagues, Bautista played at six different positions (first base, second base, third base, and all three outfield positions).

Bautista's breakout year didn't come until 2010, when he batted .260, with 148 hits, 35 doubles, 54 home runs, and 124 RBIs. The following year was just as good and Bautista ended with a .302 batting average, with 155 hits, 24 doubles, 43 home runs, and 103 RBIs. He won Silver Slugger awards and the Hank Aaron award each of those two seasons (2010, 2011) and he led major league baseball in home runs both seasons.

In 2013, Bautista batted .259 with 117 hits, 24 doubles, and 28 home runs in 118 games. He had a better season in 2014, finishing with 158 hits, 27 doubles, 35 home runs, 103 RBIs, and a .286 batting average in 155 games. He won his third Silver Slugger award in 2014.

Bautista finished the 2015 season with 136 hits, 29 doubles, 40 home runs, 114 RBIs, and a .250 batting average in 153 games. A difficult player to strike out, he had 110 walks to 106 strikeouts in 2015. As a right fielder in 118 games, he made 224 putouts and 3 errors. In the postseason, he batted .293 in 41 at-bats in 11 games and he had 12 hits, including 3 doubles and 4 home runs, and 11 RBIs. He walked 8 times and struck out 7 times.

On November 3, 2015, the Blue Jays exercised Bautista's $14 million option for 2016. He spent time on the DL in 2016, playing in just 116 games with the Blue Jays. He batted .234 with 99 hits, 24 doubles, 22 home runs, and 87 RBIs. Defensively, as the Blue Jays' right fielder in 91 games, he made 149 putouts and 2 errors for a .987 fielding percentage. In the postseason, he batted just .182 with 6 hits, including a double and 2 home runs, and 5 RBIs in 33 at-bats in 9 games.

Bautista signed a new one-year, $18 million contract with the Blue Jays on January 18, 2017. The contract includes a mutual option for 2018.

In 2017, Bautista batted just .203 in 157 games. He had 119 hits, 27 doubles, 23 home runs, 65 RBIs, and 170 strikeouts to 84 walks. Defensively, as the Blue Jays' right fielder in 143 games, he made 274 putouts and 5 errors.

The Blue Jays declined Bautista's option for 2018 on October 3, 2017. He signed a minor league contract with the Atlanta Braves on April 18, 2018. He was released on May 20th and two days later, he signed a one-year contract with the Mets. He was traded to the Philadelphia Phillies on August 28th. He finished the 2018 season with 66 hits, 18 doubles, 48 RBIs, and a .203 batting average in 12 games with the Braves, 83 games with the Mets, and 27 games with the Phillies.

Bautista became a free agent on October 29, 2018. He didn't play professional baseball in 2019 and 2020. In 2021, he played in the Summer Olympics with the bronze winning Dominican Republic team.

Career batting statistics for Bautista through 2018 include:

  • 1,798 games played
  • 1,496 hits
  • 312 doubles
  • 344 home runs
  • 975 RBIs
  • 1,394 strikeouts to 1,032 walks
  • .247 batting average

Career fielding statistics for Bautista as a right fielder through 2018 include:

  • 1,071 games played
  • 1,907 putouts
  • 36 errors
  • .982 fielding percentage

Personal Life

Bautista and his wife have two daughters.

Sources for Information
Wikipedia - Jose Bautista
ESPN Sports - Jose Bautista