KANSAS CITY, Mo. — The Toronto Blue Jays were in Baltimore on Sept. 30 when they clinched their first division title in a generation, and during their Champagne celebration, Jose Bautista spoke to his teammates.
With Toronto since 2008, Bautista has the longest tenure on the team, and the title may have meant more to him than it did to any of his teammates, even Edwin Encarnacion, who joined the Blue Jays a year later.
Bautista urged everyone to enjoy the moment and then added an important message.
“ ‘A lot of the guys in here have waited a long time for this,’ ” the backup catcher Josh Thole said, quoting Bautista.