Jose Bautista's return to Toronto: Where Joey Bats ranks among all-time best Blue Jays' hitters

Conor Roche

Jose Bautista's return to Toronto: Where Joey Bats ranks among all-time best Blue Jays' hitters image

When Jose Bautista returns to Toronto Tuesday night, it surely will evoke special memories – and debate as to where he fits among the greats in Blue Jays’ history.

Bautista helped spark a revival in Blue Jays baseball, that included a pair of postseason appearances. Over 1235 games with the Blue Jays, he crushed 288 home runs, knocked in 766 and had an .878 OPS.

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This begs to question, where does Bautista rank amongst the greatest Blue Jay hitters?

Here’s the Sporting News Top 5 all-time Blue Jays hitters.

5.  Josh Donaldson

Placing Josh Donaldson at fifth is the classic case of picking peak performance over career longevity. For the fifth spot, Tony Fernandez, Vernon Wells and Edwin Encarnacion were also considered. But Donaldson was picked over them because was ever as dominant as Donaldson over his first three seasons in Toronto.

In his first season with the Blue Jays in 2015, Donaldson was the player that finally got the Blue Jays into the playoffs after missing out for two decades. Donaldson hit .297, drove in a league-leading 123 runs and hit 41 home runs on his way to winning the AL MVP.

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Donaldson continued his dominance in 2016 as he hit .284 with 37 home runs and 99 RBIs. In his first three seasons with the Blue Jays, Donaldson hit 111 home runs (it’s up to 116 now after hitting five this season). Injuries have held Donaldson back, so far, in 2018, but if he can again be healthy and does not get traded or leave as a free agent this winter he’ll have a case to be the best hitter in Blue Jay history.

4. Joe Carter

Joe Carter will always be remembered for one incredible moment with the Blue Jays the walk-off home run that won the 1993 World Series over the Philadelphia Phillies. But Carter had a pretty good career in Toronto. Carter was named to the All-Star game five times in the seven seasons he was with the Blue Jays. He also won won two Silver Slugger Awards in 1991 and 1992 and was one of the league’s top power hitters during his Blue Jay career. Carter finished in the top six in the American League in home runs in his first four seasons as a Blue Jay, finishing with 203 home runs in his seven years in Toronto.

 

3. Carlos Delgado

If you based the list of the best hitters in Blue Jays history just off the all-time stats leaderboard, Carlos Delgado would be the greatest hitter in Blue Jays history. Delgado is the top Blue Jay in home runs (336), doubles (343), RBI (1,058), slugging percentage (.556) and on-base plus slugging (.949).

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So, why is he not no. 1? Well, he was never rarely considered one of the league’s best players during his time in Toronto. Delgado made just two All-Star games in 11 seasons as a Blue Jay., though his two All-Star seasons were incredible: a .344 batting average and 41 homers while driving in 137 runs in 2000 when he finished fourth in the AL MVP race that season; and in 2003, Delgado hit .302 to go along with 42 home runs and finishing with a league-leading 145 RBI. He finished second in the MVP vote that season.

2. Jose Bautista

Here’s a fun fact, no Blue Jay has more All-Star appearances than Jose Bautista, who is tied with Roy Halladay for the most in franchise history with six. Bautista’s unexpected emergence was the gateway to two ALCS appearances in 2015 and 2016 for the Blue Jays. Bautista, who was practically a castoff when he arrived in Toronto in 2008, took a couple of seasons to achieve greatness, but when he did, there were very few players in the league who were better power hitters. Not only were the 54 home runs that he hit in 2010 the most in baseball (by 12), they were also the most for a single-season in Blue Jay history. He followed that up with 43 home runs in 2011, which made him once again the top home run hitter in baseball. Bautista finished top four in the MVP race in both seasons to go along with making his first two All-Star games.

 

While the 2010 and 2011 seasons were Bautista’s peak, he continued to be one of the best hitting outfielders in the American League. Bautista once again hit 40 home runs in 2015, giving the Blue Jays the league’s best power due in him and Josh Donaldson.

While his last season in Toronto didn’t end so well, Bautista was the face of two Blue Jay teams that were a few wins away from making it to the World Series.

1. Roberto Alomar

Roberto Alomar played just five seasons in Toronto, but he was best player during the team’s best era in its history. Alomar, who was a Blue Jay from 1991-95, made it to the All-Star Game all five seasons that he was in Toronto and is also the franchise’s all-time leader in batting average, hitting .305 from the plate during his Blue Jay tenure. No one else has hit over .300 in their Blue Jay career.

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But more importantly, Alomar won two titles with the Blue Jays in 1992 and 1993. In ’92, Alomar won the ALCS MVP as he hit .423 in the Blue Jays’ six-game, series win over the Oakland Athletics. In the 1993 World Series win against the Phillies, Alomar hit .480 from the plate as the Blue Jays went onto to win consecutive championships. Alomar is also the only player to be inducted into the Hall of Fame as Blue Jay, separating himself from the rest of the list.

Conor Roche