BOSTON - Toronto's Jose Bautista will get a chance to show off his slugging skills at the all-star game's home run derby.
Bautista is the majors' reigning home run king and the top vote-getter for next week's all-star game.
He was excited to be selected by Boston's David Ortiz, a fellow Dominican, as one of the AL's four players to take part in the home run derby.
"Knowing I had a chance to be selected, I'm honoured to be selected by a fellow countryman," Bautista said Monday before the Blue Jays faced the Red Sox at Fenway Park. "He's talked to me a lot about the game when I was coming up. He's done a lot for me."
Before the Blue Jays faced the Red Sox at Fenway Park on Monday, the Toronto slugger said Ortiz's personality and willingness to talk to young players has helped many others.
"He's done a lot for Dominican players that are coming into the game," said Bautista. "With Robinson Cano, we're going to have three Dominicans on the team, which is an honour."
Bautista led the majors with 54 homers last year but was overlooked for the derby. He hit his major-league leading 27th Sunday in a win over Philadelphia and said he was looking forward to plenty more at Arizona's Chase Field next week.
"Knowing the stadium we're going to be hitting in, I expect a lot of home runs," he said.
