Bautista Hits 50

(Great discourse by CSzem and TDR in the comments section yesterday. I’m sure it was all great, but the posts were much too long to read in their entirety. However, it certainly looked like a lot of words. Kudos, gentlemen).

For a late September game that has absolutely no impact on the standings or the playoff races, yesterday afternoon’s contest between the Jays and Mariners certainly contained a lot of excitement.

Jose Bautista wasted no time making history, hitting his 50th home run of the season in the first inning off of Seattle’s ace, Felix Hernandez.

It’s a tremendous accomplishment for Bautista and I sincerely hope he stays a Jay for years to come. As I’ve mentioned in this space before, Bautista is the only position player on the roster who encapsulates the ‘heart and hustle’ mantra of the Jays marketing campaign. He’s the only guy not afraid to get dirty, and stick up for himself, not taking crap from any of the big dogs in the league.

I also love how he takes a Ruthian hack every time he takes a swing. Bautista does not get cheated at the plate. He may not hit a dinger each plate appearance, but it’s not for a lack of trying. I take the same, exact philosophy when I try to please a woman.

Ichiro made some headlines as well, getting his 200th hit of the season, which is the tenth consecutive year he has done that. It’s a feat that has never been done before in the history of the game. Does Ichiro deserve to be in the Hall of Fame? Discuss amongst yourselves (I say unequivocally yes).

CSzem and I discussed the AL Cy Young race on our last podcast and I was torn between CC Sabbathia and Felix Hernandez. CC has great numbers this year and a gaudy won-loss record, but Hernandez, by every metric except wins, is undoubtedly the best pitcher in the league.

The romantic, old school baseball fan in me wants the big Yankee to win because, at the end of the day, wins are what’s most important. However, the pitcher in me feels for King Felix and his league worst run support. After seeing Hernandez’s dominance against the Jays last night (a complete game two hitter) and his body of work of work throughout the season, it’s hard not see him as the Cy Young winner.

If you gave him even shitty offensive support, instead of downright terrible, he would be threatening twenty wins, instead of languishing at 12-12.

I think it’s the telling that I was openly rooting for Hernandez to win last night to improve his chances at winning the award. That does not bode well for my future as a Jays fans.

Rogers, I will see you in hell.