OAKLAND, Calif. — Jose Bautista continues carving out a more prominent place for himself in the Toronto Blue Jays record books, his latest home run helping him achieve a couple of different milestones.
The all-star right fielder’s solo shot in the sixth inning of Tuesday’s 7-1 win over the Oakland Athletics was his 20th of the season, making him just the third player in franchise history with six straight years of at least that many home runs.
He joins Carlos Delgado, who did it nine years in a row, and Joe Carter, who reached the plateau in seven consecutive years.
Beyond that, the home run was his 223rd, tying him with Vernon Wells for second among Blue Jays. Once Bautista passes Wells, only Delgado’s 336 will be in front of him.
“That’s awesome because I really came here from a shaky situation in Pittsburgh and I was given an opportunity by everybody and everybody embraced me here and I’ve always been appreciative,” Bautista said of leaving his mark on team history.
“I try to remind people that I’m really thankful for that, and I have a lot to thank Alex [Anthopoulos] for, and Cito Gaston and Dwayne Murphy. I’ll never forget that. That’s one of the things that keeps you humble because this game can change quickly and dramatically. I haven’t forgotten those days when I went from a good situation to a bad one in Pittsburgh quickly and then ended up here. I was fortunate enough to get a second chance and was able to take it and run with it.”
Bautista also holds the club’s single-season home run record with the 54 he hit in 2010, the year his run of 20-plus homer seasons started.
His power has been remarkably steady.
“It’s another great individual accomplishment, a lot of those things we get to enjoy them later on in the off-season. Right now, I just try to keep contributing. I’ll enjoy those personal accolades later on,” said Bautista, adding later: “Ideally, what I want people to think and believe and know is that I try to show up every day and do my best and be one of those guys that’s always helping the team win games.”
