CHICAGO – Beyond the numbers and the obvious on-field performance, the internal drive and determination of Russell Martin and Josh Donaldson have added two new crucial pillars of support to the fiery competitiveness of Jose Bautista that’s underpinned the Toronto Blue Jays in recent seasons.
That’s why it’s fitting all three are headed to the all-star game together, Bautista and Martin named American League reserves Monday, a day after Donaldson was revealed as baseball’s top vote-getter and third base starter in next week’s Midsummer Classic.
Together, they are the heartbeat of the Blue Jays clubhouse.
“Their ability to compete and the fact that they hate to lose,” Bautista said when asked what beyond the obvious were the most important contributions of his new teammates. “I like to say that I’m one of those guys as well, and when you put a lot of those guys together on the same team, the combined effort is one of resilience and one always trying to figure out some way to win a game and that’s what we have done so far this year and it rubs off.
“When it’s one or two guys on one team, you feel that presence, but when it becomes six or seven, it almost becomes a team mentality. Other guys buy into it and I think that’s what happening.”
All three are deserving all-stars, with Donaldson earning election thanks to some help from Don Cherry, who urged Canadians to support him after Kansas City fans put Mike Moustakas into an early lead as part of their attempted Royal flush in Cincinnati.
Bautista, off to his sixth all-star game, was elected in the players’ vote while Martin, a four-time all-star, was selected by manager Ned Yost.
Blue Jays manager John Gibbons believes the additions of Donaldson and Martin have helped Bautista by adding more support and talent around him.
“They’re definitely two leaders of our team, that’s for sure,” Gibbons said. “Alex [Anthopoulos, the GM] identified those guys in the winter and they’re both considered winners. They bring a different mindset. It’s something we desperately needed. We’ve talked about that. That doesn’t mean it’s easy to fit right in and be productive right out of the gate, but they both have. Just means they’re good.”
What exactly makes a winner?
“Just the way they approach it every day,” said Gibbons. “Their mentality, their effort. There’s a lot of stuff that goes on here that people don’t see. They just keep pushing, you know? That’s what makes up a winner. When games are down they don’t let up. The only thing they do is play to win, unselfish-type stuff. It’s a mentality.”
Bautista demonstrated the same mentality when he described the recognition of his performance with another all-star selection as something that won’t matter until the off-season.
The focus, he explained, is solely on doing what it takes to help the Blue Jays reach the post-season, and on improving his performance to help make it happen.
“I know my batting average is not where I’d like it to be right now but I’m a big believer that you don’t win games by getting base hits, you do by driving in runs and scoring runs and you can only score runs if you get on base and I’ve been doing plenty of that because I’ve been taking my walks this year,” said Bautista, slashing .246/.397/.520 heading into Monday’s action. “So I feel like I’m doing a good job so far but again the challenge is to finish the season strong and continue to help the team win games throughout the whole 162.”
To that end Bautista may skip the home run derby if asked to participate, something he says hasn’t happened yet, to rest his still recovering right shoulder.
His throwing has improved in recent weeks, and he’s looking to continue building that momentum.
“We’ll see how my body is feeling at the break,” said of the derby. “My No. 1 goal is to help this team go to the playoffs and if I feel like by going to the home run derby I might not put myself in the best position to do so, then I’m going to have to politely decline that opportunity. …
“It’s not necessarily how I feel or the pain, because I don’t have much pain right now, it’s just when you sprain an ankle and you start walking or running, you’re always tentative and that’s what happened. As I’ve played more games, I’m less shy with it, so I’m letting it go a little more.”