Former Toronto Blue Jays player to be awarded Level of Excellence

One of the Toronto Blue Jays most prolific players is coming back to the city this weekend.

José Bautista will be honoured for his career with the Blue Jays as he takes his place on the Level of Excellence at the Rogers Centre during a pregame ceremony on Saturday afternoon.

The franchise bestows this award to recognize players with “tremendous individual achievement,” the team said in a news release. Other Blue Jay greats that have received this award include George Bell, Joe Carter, Carlos Delgado and Roy Halladay, among others.

“It’s great, you know, being able to share my career with the fans and just being a part of the organization moving forward. It’s awesome,” Bautista told CP24 Breakfast Tuesday. “I’m incredibly humbled and happy and thankful, so can’t wait to be back this weekend and celebrate with the fans.”

Bautista spent nine-plus seasons with the Jays after he was traded to Toronto in August 2008 from the Pittsburgh Pirates.

The slugger became a household name for Toronto fans, winning three Silver Slugger awards and making six all-star games from between 2010 and 2015.

In 2010, he set the single-season franchise record with 54 home runs while leading Major League Baseball, and hit 288 homers with the Blue Jays in total.

But of all the homers he has hit throughout his career, Bautista pointed to his iconic bat-flipping moment as the one he is most proud of.

“Having a 22-year playoff drought, and us having a great team that year in 2015, being able to be in that position in such a big moment of such a crucial series, I was lucky enough to be in that position and just being able to connect that home run and come through for the franchise was huge,” he said.

“It created a lot of memories for the fans, and ultimately, that’s why professional baseball exists and that’s why we do what we do, and I was just lucky to be in that moment.”

In honour of Bautista’s achievement, the first 20,000 fans to head into the ballpark Saturday will get a Jose Bautista Bat Flip Bobblehead.

An image of the Jose Bautista Bat Flip Bobblehead to be given out to the first 20,000 fans during the pregame ceremony on Aug. 12. (Courtesy of Toronto Blue Jays)

“José Bautista captured hearts and ignited a fan base as part of the team that brought Toronto back to the postseason for the first time in 22 years. His on-field achievements propelled the team to greatness, and he undoubtedly belongs on the Blue Jays Level of Excellence,” President and CEO of the franchise Mark Shapiro said in a release.

“On behalf of the organization, we are proud to honour José and his remarkable career with Blue Jays fans.”

With files from The Canadian Press