For those who thought Jose Bautista would be a one season wonder well you may want to think this one through again. Last year he was the most dangerous power hitter in the majors but this year he is just the best hitter period. Toronto has seen some very good hitters over the years - Carlos Delgado, George Bell, Roberto Alomar, Joe Carter but no one has ever dominated like this before. sure it's only 40 games but that's what people were saying last season. He will cool off. The pressure will get to him. The pitchers will figure him out.
But this guy keeps getting better and better. Earlier in his career Bautista's swing was late and he chased balls outside the strike zone. But he learned to quicken up his swing and discovered his power potential. Now he is showing incredible patience and discipline while waiting for a good pitch. Pitchers now have no choice but either to walk him or throw him a strike. The results have been devastating.
He leads the MLB or the AL in batting average (AL), walks (MLB), runs (MLB), home runs (MLB), on base percentage (MLB), and slugging percentage (MLB). Sure he is only 11th in RBI but that's because pitchers won't throw him a strike with a man on base. Oh and he has missed 8 games this season too. I know people say he can't keep it up. That's what they said last season but he kept up his home run numbers. Then they said he would be lucky to get 30 homers this season. Well he's on pace to hit over 70. I know he can't keep up that pace either.
The final knock on him followed his contract that he signed with the Jays during the off season. Critics were saying it was absurd to sign a 30 year old guy with one good season for $65 million over 5 years. He could have waited to the end of this season but felt that the Jays had shown him loyalty. How much money did he leave on the table? Adrian Beltre got $80 million over 5 years. Mark Teixiera got $180 million of 8 years. Are either of these players really better than Bautista?
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