José Bautista (third baseman)

Infobox MLB player


width=300
name=José Bautista
position=Third baseman
team=Toronto Blue Jays
number=23
bats=Right
throws=Right
birthdate=birth date and age|1980|10|19
birthplace=Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic
debutdate=April 4
debutyear=2004
debutteam=Baltimore Orioles
statyear=August 31, 2008
stat1label=Batting average
stat1value=.239
stat2label=Home runs
stat2value=43
stat3label=Runs batted in
stat3value=164
teams=
*Baltimore Orioles (by|2004)
*Tampa Bay Devil Rays (by|2004)
*Kansas City Royals (by|2004)
*Pittsburgh Pirates (by|2004-by|2008)
*Toronto Blue Jays (by|2008-present)

José Antonio Bautista (born October 19, 1980 in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic) is a Major League Baseball infielder/outfielder and right-handed batter who plays for the Toronto Blue Jays. He is not related to pitcher José Bautista.

Major League career

During the mlby|2004 season, Bautista played for the Baltimore Orioles, Tampa Bay Devil Rays, Kansas City Royals, and Pittsburgh Pirates. He was also technically on the New York Mets roster after being acquired from the Royals and dealt to the Pirates the same day. [ [http://www.baseballamerica.com/today/news/040730benson.html Baseball America: Trade Central ] ] This made him the first player to be on five different Major League rosters over the course of one season.

The Pirates, Bautista's original team, lost him to the Orioles in the Rule 5 Draft, and he made his debut with Baltimore on April 4, 2004. He was claimed off waivers by Tampa Bay on June 3, then traded to Kansas City on June 28. He was then sent to the Mets on July 30, and without playing a game for New York, was traded back to Pittsburgh.

In mlby|2006, his first full season with the Pirates, Bautista hit just .235 but hit 16 home runs and drove in 51 runs. The following season in mlby|2007, he posted similar numbers in 142 games, though his batting average was better. He finished the season with a batting average of .254, 15 home runs and 63 RBI.

That same year, he became the starting third baseman for the Pittsburgh Pirates. He took over for National League batting champion Freddy Sanchez, who moved to second base.

2008

Bautista was to be the Pirates' starting third baseman and on occasion, an outfielder in mlby|2008. From June 14 to June 24, Bautista belted five home runs in a span of 9 games against interleague opponents Baltimore, Chicago White Sox, Toronto, and the New York Yankees. However, Bautista struggled for most of the year to find his groove and, after the 2008 trade deadline, Bautista lost his starting job to the newly-acquired Andy LaRoche. He was optioned to Triple-A (Indianapolis Indians) on August 13. After performing well in Triple-A, the Pirates came to realize that Bautista was not in their long-term plans. On August 21, he was traded to the Toronto Blue Jays for a player to be named later (Robinzon Diaz). [cite news |first= Dejan|last= Kovacevic|title= Pirates trade Bautista to Blue Jays|url= http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/08234/906103-100.stm?cmpid=sports.xml|publisher= Pittsburgh Post-Gazette|date= 2008-08-21|accessdate=2008-08-21]

Fielding

Bautista is known for his versatility in the field, as he is able to play the center field, third base, right field, left field, first base and second base positions. In 2006 spring training, he also briefly played shortstop.

Trivia

* On Bautista's 2008 Topps card, (#158) the signature and stats match Bautista, however the photograph on the card is of former Pittsburgh infielder Jose Castillo.

References

External links