Everyone that pays attention to the MLB should have heard of Jose Bautista, and how he went from hitting 16 homers to blasting 54 in 2010. Was this a fluke or was power always sitting in that bat looking for the right opportunity, hiding in wait until he settled down and got comfortable? Players have great years, and fizzle out all the time. Guys named Phil Plantier and Pete Schourek come to mind. Can Bautista keep this going? Everybody wants to know.
Bautista always had the ability to be an everyday player that hits for average and power. Jeff Manto, Pittsburgh’s hitting coach during Bautista's time with the Pirates, figured he could be a 20-25 HR player. The biggest issue was his attitude. In one single A game, after getting out three straight time's on well hit balls, Jose was so upset that during warm up for the inning his throws continually sailed into the stands — which got him pulled from the game. Bautista was a perfectionist that couldn't let things go. When he made mistakes, he dwelled on them and it showed in his play. The very thing that has made him into the great hitter he is now, almost destroyed him as a baseball player.
It wasn't until 2004 that Bautista went through a period of growth. During GM meetings in the winter of 2003, at the age of 24, the Baltimore Orioles claimed him in the Rule 5 Draft. Jose went into his first spring training knowing that there was a chance he could be playing in the majors. After earning a spot as back up for Melvin Mora at 3B, Jose was only given 11 AB to make a impact and hit .272 with 0 HR and 0 RBI. Then he was traded to the Tampa Bay Devil Rays, received only 12 AB. Again he was traded, this time to the Kansas City Royals. He failed to give any glimpses of promise with KC and after 25 AB he hit .200 with 1 RBI. After being involved in a 3 team trade, he was back with Pttsburgh, where he finished the season hitting .200 and 0 RBI. Finishing his rookie campaign with a .204 AVG and 0 HR and 3 RBI. Now you can look at the stats all you want, but they don't show you the whole story. He was given little playing time, and probably given little support or help with working out the kinks.
Bautista always had the ability to be an everyday player that hits for average and power. Jeff Manto, Pittsburgh’s hitting coach during Bautista's time with the Pirates, figured he could be a 20-25 HR player. The biggest issue was his attitude. In one single A game, after getting out three straight time's on well hit balls, Jose was so upset that during warm up for the inning his throws continually sailed into the stands — which got him pulled from the game. Bautista was a perfectionist that couldn't let things go. When he made mistakes, he dwelled on them and it showed in his play. The very thing that has made him into the great hitter he is now, almost destroyed him as a baseball player.
It wasn't until 2004 that Bautista went through a period of growth. During GM meetings in the winter of 2003, at the age of 24, the Baltimore Orioles claimed him in the Rule 5 Draft. Jose went into his first spring training knowing that there was a chance he could be playing in the majors. After earning a spot as back up for Melvin Mora at 3B, Jose was only given 11 AB to make a impact and hit .272 with 0 HR and 0 RBI. Then he was traded to the Tampa Bay Devil Rays, received only 12 AB. Again he was traded, this time to the Kansas City Royals. He failed to give any glimpses of promise with KC and after 25 AB he hit .200 with 1 RBI. After being involved in a 3 team trade, he was back with Pttsburgh, where he finished the season hitting .200 and 0 RBI. Finishing his rookie campaign with a .204 AVG and 0 HR and 3 RBI. Now you can look at the stats all you want, but they don't show you the whole story. He was given little playing time, and probably given little support or help with working out the kinks.
In '05, after a brief stint in the majors, was back in Double A. This experience of playing in the majors, along with being back where he was comfortable, really matured Bautista. It undoubtedly led to the resurgence in his career and most importantly his attitude towards baseball. That season he hit 23 HR in 117 games, showing Pittsburgh that he really could play.
In the '06-'07 seasons he was finally given solid playing time and began producing, averaging 15 HR & 57 RBI's. Jose was fulfilling expectations.
He began 2008, slotted as a starter for the first time in his career. From June 14th-24th, Bautista hit five homers in a span of 9 games, showing off some power potential that hitting coaches were talking about. Besides that though, Bautista struggled offensivel,y for most of the year and eventually lost his starting job to the newly-acquired Andy LaRoche. He was optioned to Triple-A in August. He was then traded to the Toronto Blue Jays for Robinzon Diaz. (steal for the Blue Jays!) Jose finished the year off with 15 HR, 44 RBi hitting .238.
Jose made major progress as a hitter during the '09 campaign. Thanks to hitting guru, Dwayne Murphy, who has been transforming hitters like Adam Lind and Aaron Hill into bona fide MLB stars, he improved his mechanics plate approach. Relaxing at the plate, being prepared for pitches before they came in. This lead to him making the Blue Jays roster. The Jays traded 3B Scott Rolen due to personal issues and OF Alex Rios, via waivers. This resulted in Bautista becoming a starter, and even eventually became the lead-off hitter after SS Marco Scutaro was hurt. Then he started surpassing his potential. Bautista had a stretch of 5 HR in 6 games at one point. Bautista finished the 2009 season with 13 HR (10 of which came in the month of September).
And the rest, as they say, is history. Jose went on a tear in 2010. breaking the Blue Jays single season HR record with 54. Winning the AL Hank Aaron award, The Silver Slugger award for the OF position. And finished 4th in MVP voting.
Much like 2010. When April '11 ended, Bautista was leading the AL in every offensive category that matters:
AVG (.366), HR (9), BOB (28), RS (25), OBP (.532), SLG. (.780), and OPS (1.312). His 28 walks broke a club record set by Carlos Delgado in 2001. And won the AL Player of the Month.
Major league career statistics (courtesy of http://www.wikipedia.com/)
Sources:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jos%C3%A9_Bautista
http://bleacherreport.com/articles/162088-mlb-top-20-one-hit-wonders
http://www.jockbio.com/Bios/J_Bautista/J_Bautista_bio.html
http://www.baseball-reference.com
http://mlb.mlb.com/team/player.jsp?player_id=430832#statType=1§ionType=career&season=2011&gameType='R'
In the '06-'07 seasons he was finally given solid playing time and began producing, averaging 15 HR & 57 RBI's. Jose was fulfilling expectations.
He began 2008, slotted as a starter for the first time in his career. From June 14th-24th, Bautista hit five homers in a span of 9 games, showing off some power potential that hitting coaches were talking about. Besides that though, Bautista struggled offensivel,y for most of the year and eventually lost his starting job to the newly-acquired Andy LaRoche. He was optioned to Triple-A in August. He was then traded to the Toronto Blue Jays for Robinzon Diaz. (steal for the Blue Jays!) Jose finished the year off with 15 HR, 44 RBi hitting .238.
Jose made major progress as a hitter during the '09 campaign. Thanks to hitting guru, Dwayne Murphy, who has been transforming hitters like Adam Lind and Aaron Hill into bona fide MLB stars, he improved his mechanics plate approach. Relaxing at the plate, being prepared for pitches before they came in. This lead to him making the Blue Jays roster. The Jays traded 3B Scott Rolen due to personal issues and OF Alex Rios, via waivers. This resulted in Bautista becoming a starter, and even eventually became the lead-off hitter after SS Marco Scutaro was hurt. Then he started surpassing his potential. Bautista had a stretch of 5 HR in 6 games at one point. Bautista finished the 2009 season with 13 HR (10 of which came in the month of September).
And the rest, as they say, is history. Jose went on a tear in 2010. breaking the Blue Jays single season HR record with 54. Winning the AL Hank Aaron award, The Silver Slugger award for the OF position. And finished 4th in MVP voting.
Much like 2010. When April '11 ended, Bautista was leading the AL in every offensive category that matters:
AVG (.366), HR (9), BOB (28), RS (25), OBP (.532), SLG. (.780), and OPS (1.312). His 28 walks broke a club record set by Carlos Delgado in 2001. And won the AL Player of the Month.
Major league career statistics (courtesy of http://www.wikipedia.com/)
| Regular season | Playoffs | |||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team | League | G | AB | R | H | HR | RBI | G | AB | R | H | HR | RBI | ||
| 2004 | Baltimore Orioles | MLB | 16 | 11 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | – | – | – | – | – | – | ||
| 2004 | Tampa Bay Devil Rays | MLB | 12 | 12 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 1 | – | – | – | – | – | – | ||
| 2004 | Kansas City Royals | MLB | 13 | 25 | 1 | 5 | 0 | 1 | – | – | – | – | – | – | ||
| 2004 | Pittsburgh Pirates | MLB | 23 | 40 | 1 | 8 | 0 | 0 | – | – | – | – | – | – | ||
| 2005 | Pittsburgh Pirates | MLB | 11 | 28 | 3 | 4 | 0 | 1 | – | – | – | – | – | – | ||
| 2006 | Pittsburgh Pirates | MLB | 117 | 400 | 58 | 94 | 16 | 51 | – | – | – | – | – | – | ||
| 2007 | Pittsburgh Pirates | MLB | 142 | 532 | 75 | 135 | 15 | 63 | – | – | – | – | – | – | ||
| 2008 | Pittsburgh Pirates | MLB | 107 | 314 | 38 | 76 | 12 | 44 | – | – | – | – | – | – | ||
| 2008 | Toronto Blue Jays | MLB | 21 | 56 | 7 | 12 | 3 | 10 | – | – | – | – | – | – | ||
| 2009 | Toronto Blue Jays | MLB | 113 | 336 | 54 | 79 | 13 | 40 | – | – | – | – | – | – | ||
| 2010 | Toronto Blue Jays | MLB | 161 | 569 | 109 | 148 | 54 | 124 | – | – | – | – | – | – | ||
| MLB totals | 736 | 2323 | 350 | 566 | 113 | 335 | – | – | – | – | – | – | ||||
Sources:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jos%C3%A9_Bautista
http://bleacherreport.com/articles/162088-mlb-top-20-one-hit-wonders
http://www.jockbio.com/Bios/J_Bautista/J_Bautista_bio.html
http://www.baseball-reference.com
http://mlb.mlb.com/team/player.jsp?player_id=430832#statType=1§ionType=career&season=2011&gameType='R'
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