Bautista opens home to Sportsnet

By Michael Zitney in Santo Domingo

For sportsnet.ca

SANTO DOMINGO -- Having the opportunity to travel to Santo Domingo, the capital and largest city in the Dominican Republic, to spend the day with Toronto Blue Jays slugger Jose Bautista is not something one should take for granted.

I was uncertain of what to expect with Bautista, as most stories begin and end with his guarded and private personality. The only information provided by Bautista was an address and a request to be there by 9:30 a.m. local time. I was expecting a huge house in a private and gated community, but to my surprise the address given was a very modest condo building set in the heart of Santo Domingo. Like clockwork, Bautista was standing outside waiting and he could not have been nicer. Any doubt I had going in quickly vanished, and I knew it was going to be a great day of shooting the player in his element. Bautista immediately started asking us about our time in Santo Domingo, and he was more than happy to talk about his personal life and family.

The most difficult part of the process proved to be following Bautista in a rental car through the crazy streets of Santo Domingo. Sure there are street lights and stop signs, but it seems most are just a suggestion: It was drive aggressively and keep an eye on the car in front.

Luckily I ended up at the stadium.

On the field Bautista began to warm up with a regular group of players that he works out with during the offseason, and upon closer examination I noticed Ubaldo Jiminez working out in the outfield. A few minutes later, Hanley Ramirez began to workout with Bautista and his group. Everybody knows how pampered professional athletes can be, and how they don’t carry their own bags in The Show; however, come the offseason it’s obvious that each have no issues carrying equipment or helping gather baseballs for batting practice.

After a day of workouts and interviews it was goodbyes and back to the hotel for an early night. However, Bautista continued to play the role of host and told our crew of five to be in our hotel lobby for 8 p.m. local as he wanted to take us out for dinner. As promised, it was dinner and a night out with Bautista and two of his frirends. The restaurant was located in the main-square of Santo Domingo overlooking Christopher Columbus’ house – quite the setting for dinner. I was curious to see how people would treat the major league player in public. It seemed everyone respected his privacy. Some would send over drinks, and the chef wanted a picture, but for the most part everyone left him alone.

During dinner Bautista discussed everything from business, family, his own thoughts on the Jays and life in Toronto. Oh, and a magician stopped by:

Be sure to catch the Jose Bautista in Santo Domingo feature in Sportsnet Connected on Tuesday, Feb. 14 (6 p.m. ET) and again during the one-hour 2012 MLB Preview show on April 1.