Ode to Jose Bautista

Yeah, he's been retired for a while now, so what? This is my blog and I get to write about whatever I want! Shut up non-existent reader just let me do my thing!

(in the tune of that soccer song) Jose, Jose, Jose, Jose, Jose, Jose. Where to even begin? I think my first sports love was the Toronto Blue Jays. I used to spend summers watching a middling team struggle in the toughest division in baseball and I loved every minute of it. My earliest sports memories were watching Roy Halladay take the mound every 5 days and be dominant. Vernon Wells in center field and Alex Rios in right. My dad would take the family to at least 5 games a year, I knew every players' batting average, homeruns and RBIs off the top of my head. Yeah I was a nerd. 

In 2008 the Jays signed long time journeyman Jose Bautista, as a 10 year old child who was an avid follower of the team at the time, I thought nothing of it, neither did most people. Then came 2010 a season that cemented my fandom in the team forever. Bautista, after struggling his entire career, broke out at age 29 hitting 54 homeruns. The team stunk but I remember avidly tracking each one and getting excited about having the homerun king on our team. I would show up 2 hours early to games hoping I could get a ball from one of his dingers in batting practice. The team moved him into right field, a position he excelled at, and our seats at the games also happened to be directly behind right field. My mom would frequently comment on how much she enjoyed the view when Jose was out there, oh mom. Bautista would lead the league in homeruns again the next season. Even though the Jays sucked, he gave me a reason to watch every game. 

Then came 2015. The best season the Jays had in my lifetime, yeah I'm young. The team had the AL MVP Josh Donaldson, elite hitter and my personal fav who will be getting an Ode himself, Edwin Encarnacion but the heart and soul of the team remained Jose Bautista. Jose hit second in the batting order all season in what proved to be one of if not the most dominant offense in the league at the time. The Jays struck gold at the trade deadline that season as well adding ace pitcher David Price and elite shortstop Troy Tulowitzki. I remember vividly the Tulo trade happened at 2 in the morning, I was up in bed listening to sports radio when the news broke. With no other friends awake to be excited with I actually called into the radio show to express my excitement, the host found it amusing. After the deadline the team went on a heater, winning the division and making the playoffs for the first time in my life. I was elated. 

That first series against the Texas Rangers was insane. The Jays lost the first 2 games in the 5 game series and were facing elimination. They stormed back and won the next 2 to set up the most exciting game in Blue Jays history, fight me on that. In the top of the 7th inning, catcher Russel Martin throws the ball back to the pitcher when it bounces off of Chin-Soo Choo's outstretched bat. In the confusion the runner from third base scores, giving the Rangers the lead. The fans are PISSED, garbage is being thrown on the field, the stadium is shaking. The inning turns over to the bottom of the 7th, the rangers make 4 errors, 4, allowing Bautista to come on with the game tied and 2 runners on. Bautista with the drive, deep left field, no doubt about it! The bat flip heard around the world. The Jays win the series on Bautista's ability to be clutch when it matters. 

You can't measure clutch, there's no 1 stat that describes if a player is clutch or not, you just know it when you see it. Bautista might have been the most clutch athlete in Toronto sports history. He made my childhood summers 10x more enjoyable and eventually made my teenaged falls electric. When the Jays added him to the level of excellence at the Rogers Center, Jose teared up at the ceremony. I'd be lying if I said I didn't as well. I will never forget Jose and what he did to shape me as a sports fan today.