'A Long Time Coming': Blue Jays Immortalize Jose Bautista on Level of Excellence

Jose Bautista was inducted into the Toronto Blue Jays' Level of Excellence before Saturday's game against the Cubs.

Nick Turchiaro-USA TODAY Sports

The Blue Jays were José Bautista's fifth team in four years. 

He was traded to Toronto in 2008 as a career .240 hitter with just 31 homers to his name. He was 27 years old, supposedly entering his prime. But instead, the future Silver Slugger was fighting for playing time and clinging on to roster spots.

"I was reaching that point in my career where it was continue to be that utility guy for the rest of my career or try something different and hopefully it'd work," Bautista said.

The was urgency to find it, Bautista said, but find it he did. After joining the Blue Jays in 2008, the right fielder rattled off one of the best careers in franchise history. In 10 seasons with Toronto, Bautista racked up 288 homers, led the team to two ALCS, and earned MVP votes four times.

Now, six years after his final game in Toronto and officially retired, the Blue Jays honored Bautista with a spot on Rogers Centre's Level of Excellence. Once a passed-over utility man urgently searching for a regular role, Bautista now sits beside Roy Halladay, Dave Stieb, Joe Carter, and more — from castoff to immortal. 

"I owe a great deal to this franchise, they gave me a chance and I was able to accomplish a lot here," Bautista said. "I definitely was already in my head retired as a Blue Jay, but to make it official is kind of cool."

Bautista's Toronto lore is littered with mean-mugging mental battles with Darren O'Day, loud homers in big moments, playoff heroics with iconic celebrations, and Blue Jays franchise records that still stand.

The right fielder's best Blue Jay moments flashed across the video board to kick off Saturday's ceremony. At a time of dark jerseys and boring Blue Jays baseball, Bautista brought power, flare, and success. Asked for his favorite moment or accomplishment during his 10 seasons in Toronto, Bautista largely deflected. He mentioned 54 homers in a season, acknowledged the two ALCS appearances, and nodded to bringing playoff (and enjoyable) baseball back to Toronto.

But, for Bautista, his memories are more connected to players and relationships. So, it was no surprise that a laundry list of former players and managers walked out of the Blue Jays' home dugout before Saturday's game, strolling down memory lane, and out onto the field to surround the main event. 

From John Gibbons to Adam Lind, Edwin Encarnacion, and more, the Blue Jays of Bautista's era joined him on the field before the curtain fell to unveil his name in the rafters. No player, naturally, got a bigger ovation than Bautista himself. As the former slugger and All-Star strode out across the mound, the crowd serenaded him with a familiar cheer: Joséeeee, José, José, José.

While almost all the Blue Jay greats of the 2010s were on the field or featured in video tributes before Saturday's game, Bautista was always the headliner. Because of his longevity, team success, and quantity of homers. But, most of all, because of his moments.

Bautista finds himself immortalized on the Level of Excellence because of the bat flip, and the 54-homer season, and the stare-downs with opposing pitchers. His legacy is built on those moments, and Saturday's induction and celebration was more to add.