Bautista named to Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame Bautista named to Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame Bautista named to Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame Bautista named to Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame Bautista named to Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame Bautista named to Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame Bautista named to Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame Bautista named to Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame Bautista named to Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame Bautista named to Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame
Global News
Life changed for José Bautista after his momentous bat-flip homer, but the former Toronto Blue Jays slugger felt rewarded with the blast's impact on Canadian baseball from coast to coast to coast.
Life changed for José Bautista after his momentous bat-flip homer, but the former Toronto Blue Jays slugger felt rewarded with the blast’s impact on Canadian baseball from coast to coast to coast.
The 44-year-old Bautista was into the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame on Wednesday, along with former Major League lefty Érik Bédard, junior national team head coach Greg Hamilton and women’s national team standout Amanda Asay.
Asay will be inducted posthumously as will veterans’ committee selections Arleene Noga and Gerry Snyder in a ceremony in St. Marys, Ont., on June 7.
“I think everybody remembers the big moments like that,” Bautista said, referencing Joe Carter’s World Series-winning homer in 1993 and Kawhi Leonard’s buzzer-beating shot to clinch a second-round series win over Philadelphia en route to the Toronto Raptors’ 2019 NBA title.
“It was one of those moments. I think that it definitely changed for me. Much more people wanted to embrace me and just share the love, not only for the Blue Jays but for what I was doing.”
The three-run homer from Bautista in a wild 53-minute seventh inning and his celebratory controversial bat-flip propelled the Blue Jays past the Texas Rangers in the deciding game of their American League Division Series.
He felt the imprint his homer made on the country as he travelled on Blue Jays’ winter tours.
“I saw the love and how big the turnouts were, the people’s energy and emotion by seeing us and wearing their Blue Jays gear, and how they supported,” Bautista said. “You can tell it was genuine, and you can tell it was massive.”
