The Toronto Blue Jays signed a one-day contract with Jose Bautista . It is to hold a retirement ceremony for Batista, whose major league career ended at the end of 2018.

“Batista has signed a one-day contract so that he can officially retire as a member of the team .

“Few names are as synonymous with Blue Jays baseball as Jose Bautista,” Toronto President Marc Shapiro said. “It is a great honor for us to have him officially retire in a Blue Jays uniform. On behalf of a generation of Blue Jays fans who have had the privilege of inspiring the Blue Jays, thank you Jose for a fascinating decade representing Toronto.”

Nominated by the Pittsburgh Pirates in the 20th round of the 2000 draft, Batista made his major league debut with Baltimore in 2004. Soon after, however, he switched teams to Tampa Bay, Kansas City, New York Mets, and Pittsburgh, setting the first major league record to play for five teams in a season.

He played 10 seasons until 2017 after being traded to Toronto during the 2008 season. He became the major league home run champion with 54 home runs in 2010, and became the home run king for the second consecutive year with 43 home runs in 2011. His major league career ended in 2018 after playing for Atlanta, New York Mets and Philadelphia. He hit 344 home runs in his major league career.

In his 10 seasons in Toronto, Batista finished second all-time with 288 home runs, third all-time with 766 RBIs, and seventh all-time with 1103 hits. He was an all – star for six consecutive years from 2010 to 2015, winning three silver sluggers awards in 2010, 2011 and 2014.

The highlight of Batista’s baseball career came in the 2015 playoffs. Toronto advanced to the postseason for the first time in 22 years since winning the World Series in 1993.

Toronto met Texas Rangers in the American League Division Series, and after losing games 1 and 2, they won games 3 and 4, leading them to a total of 5 games. In Game 5 at the Rogers Center, Batista hit a final three-run homer with two out on first and third base in the seventh inning to tie the game 3-3.

The scene where he throws the bat high in the air after hitting a home run is talked about as the famous bat flip in the major leagues. Toronto advanced to the Championship Series by defeating Texas, where Choo Shin-soo played at the time, with a reverse sweep.

Batista also competed as a member of the Dominican Republic national team at the 2021 Tokyo Olympics. At that time, Batista saved the team from elimination by hitting a finishing hit in the first-round revival match against Israel.

And in the bronze medal match against Korea, he started as a third baseman, then changed his position to first baseman and played until the end of the game. He held the last out count and held a bronze medal ceremony.

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