José Bautista took his rightful place on the Blue Jays Level of Excellence today, in front of a sold-out crowd of fans, family, and former teammates at Rogers Centre. Undoubtedly one of the greatest Blue Jays players of all time, Bautista headlined a resurgence of baseball in Canada for a decade. Yesterday, he signed a one-day contract to officially retire as a member of the Toronto Blue Jays.
Bautista’s achievements and contributions to the club were proudly honoured during a historic on-field ceremony earlier today, which included:
- Blue Jays-commissioned outdoor mural of Bautista’s iconic bat flip, on display at 99 Spadina Avenue in Toronto and seen during the ceremony on the outfield batter’s eye. During his time in Toronto, Bautista became part of the fabric of the city and the downtown mural, designed by local artist Paul Glyn-Williams (@sumartist), now etches his legacy in the city for fans to visit and enjoy (images here).
- As a player, Bautista was actively involved in the Toronto community, visiting children at Holland Bloorview Kids Rehabilitation Hospital, and participating in Jays Care programming. In his honour, the club and Jays Care will donate $100,000 to Holland Bloorview. Funds will support an enhancement to the hospital’s “Teen Lounge” (a space for youth receiving inpatient treatment to connect with one another), as well as Jays Care Challenger Baseball programming at Holland Bloorview. More details on these special initiatives to come.
- Additionally, in recognition of his six All-Star nods (2010-2015), Jays Care Foundation is introducing the “Joey Bats All-Star Award,” to be given out annually to six youth, coaches, teachers, or teams across Jays Care programming who demonstrate Bautista’s signature resiliency and tenacity.
- In celebration of his three Silver Slugger awards (2010, 2011, 2014), Bautista was given two custom-designed Muskoka chairs, bringing a piece of Canadian tradition to enjoy retirement at the Bautista family lake house. Designed by Canadian art studio Steve Tracy Gallery, the chairs feature images from Bautista’s Blue Jays tenure (image here).
- Honouring his franchise record 54 home run season (2010), Bautista was presented with a custom diamond, ruby, and sapphire pendant featuring his number 19, the Blue Jays logo, and his bat, engraved with the Level of Excellence ceremony date. The pendant was designed by local jeweller, Kilani Jewellery (image here).
- Finally, to commemorate his retirement as a Blue Jay, Edward Rogers, Chair of the Toronto Blue Jays and Chair of Rogers, presented Bautista with a framed jersey and photo from his contract signing on Friday, Aug. 11, 2023 (image here).
Excerpt from Bautista’s ceremony speech today:
“In August 2008, when I was told that I had been traded to the Toronto Blue Jays, I had no idea how it would change my life. I knew that Toronto had a lot of great players and that the Blue Jays had a great history, including two World Series. I was also aware that from its very beginning, the Jays organization had strong ties to my home country, the beautiful Dominican Republic. But what I didn’t fully realize until I arrived in Toronto was that this was such a welcoming, diverse, and multicultural city. You embraced me and my family as your own and I can’t thank you enough for that. You treated me like an All-Star long before becoming one and all that mattered was that I was one of your Blue Jays. That will not be forgotten, and I will always be proud to represent you.
I would like to thank Mark Shapiro and the current Blue Jays front office for bringing me here today for this great honour. And finally, I want to thank you, the fans, who especially during those crazy wonderful days in 2015 and 2016, filled the stadium, watched by the millions on television, and lived and died with every pitch. I know for many of you those memories will last a lifetime. We could feel your love and support, we played for the city, we played for this country, we played for each other, but most of all we played for you. Today, I am proud and humbled to look up and see my name alongside so many greats on the Level of Excellence. I want to thank every one of you for this unforgettable journey.”
For the unveiling of Bautista’s name on the Level of Excellence at Rogers Centre, Bautista stood with his wife Neisha and their four daughters, while many family members watched from the field alongside a long list of former Blue Jays teammates and coaches, including Edwin Encarnación, Melky Cabrera, Ricky Romero, Russell Martin, Justin Smoak, Devon Travis, Ryan Goins, Marco Scutaro, Adam Lind, Travis Snider, Cito Gaston, John Gibbons, Dwayne Murphy, and Brian Butterfield.