AL Wild Card 2016: Jose Bautista launches mammoth HR (Video)
The Toronto Blue Jays took an early 1-0 lead in the AL Wild Card game thanks to an absolute blast by Jose Bautista.
Jose Bautista is good. There’s no way around it, the guy can hit as good as anyone in the league. Heck, you could argue that his home runs are as vicious as anyone else’s in baseball other than Giancarlo Stanton. He showed that brute strength on Tuesday night during the AL Wild Card game.
Toronto has experienced a ton of success over the past few years because of his potent bat, and he helped the Blue Jays strike first on Tuesday night. His mammoth home run in the second inning still hasn’t come down yet.
Jose Bautista crushed this baseball. pic.twitter.com/KRPNiZuAOq
— Joe Giglio (@JoeGiglioSports) October 5, 2016
The 35-year-old slugger has had somewhat of a down-year, hitting just .234 with 22 home runs and 69 RBI in just 116 games and this was his lowest average since 2005. Moreover, this was his lowest home run total since 2009 and RBI total since 2012.
It may have been an off-year for the MLB vet, but he still has some power left in the take as he showed with this incredible home run. The Blue Jays just barely snuck into the playoffs as the second wild card recipient, holding off surging teams like the Detroit Tigers, Seattle Mariners and Houston Astros.
Related Story: 5 rookies that will impact the 2016 MLB Playoffs
The Blue Jays made some noise last year in the playoffs, but ultimately fell short of the World Series. This team is built with power hitters and guys like Bautista, Edwin Encarnacion and Troy Tulowitzki have been knocking them out of the park all season.
Unfortunately, the Orioles have even more power and Mark Trumbo put them up 2-1 with a home run blast in the top of the fourth inning.
This is going to be one of the best AL Wild Card finishes yet.