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Baltimore Orioles 2004
Drafted
by Pittsburgh in the 20th round of the 2000 draft, Bautista toiled in the Pirates minor league system until Baltimore
selected him in the 2003 Rule V draft. Bautista appeared in just 16 games with the Orioles and went 3 for 11.
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Tampa Bay Devil Rays 2004
The Devil Rays plucked Bautista off waivers in June. He played in 12 games
and went 2 for 12.
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Kansas
City Royals 2004
Purchased
from Tampa on June 28, Bautista spent a month with Kansas City and went 5 for 25 in 15 games. The Royals shipped him to the
Mets on July 30 for pitcher Justin Huber.
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Pittsburgh Pirates 2004-2008
A Met for only hours, Bautista was traded back to Pittburgh on July 30
in the deal that sent Kris Benson to New York. Finally able to establish a residency, Bautista saw his first significant major
league action with Pirates. After years of 16 and 15 homeruns, he was dealt to Toronto on August 21, 2008 for a
player to be named later (Robinson Diaz).
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Toronto Blue Jays 2008-Present
In 2009, his first full season in Toronto, Bautista hit a medicore .235
with 13 homeruns. Nobody could have predicted what would happen next. The 29-year-old burst onto the national scene in
2010 making his first All Star team while hitting a major league leading 54 homeruns with 124 RBI and an AL best 351 total
bases. Following
his breakout season, Bautista was rewarded with a 5-year, $65 million contract extension.
The 30-year-old proved his 2010 campaign was no fluke by again leading the majors
in homers with 43 in 2011. He also topped all players in slugging percentage (.608), OPS (1.032) and walks
(132) while hitting a career high .302 and finishing second to Detroit's Miguel Cabrera by .001 in on-base-percentage (.447). Bautista
is considered a leading candidate for AL MVP.
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