Jose Bautista is Working Out as a Pitcher for Dominican Olympic Team and His Heater Touches 94
By Sam Dunn
The Dominican Republic has never lacked for baseball talent. But as the country mounts its push to qualify for the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo, they're looking in some intriguing directions to squeeze some extra juice out of their player pool.
How so, you ask? Well, Jose Bautista doesn't just want to play for the DR -- he wants to pitch. And Joey Batts is throwing gas out there.
I've seen video of Jose Bautista throwing a bullpen session. Couldn't tell the velocity, but one source said he can run his fastball up to 94. His slider had legitimate tilt -- threw a short one and a bigger bender. @STR0 said in January he could pitch in a big league bullpen.
— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) March 2, 2020
Maybe we ought to start calling him Joey Balls?
Jeff Passan notes that the six-time Toronto Blue Jays All-Star will primarily work at first base, a position he sparingly took up during a sweet-swinging MLB career that has been fallow since he finished the 2018 season with the Phillies. But to see such determination from a 39-year-old out to reinvent himself as a two-way player is impressive stuff.
Almost as impressive as hitting 94 on the radar gun and spinning some finesse into the ol' breaking ball.
Facts! @JoeyBats19 https://t.co/qnkQI95MmQ
— Marcus Stroman (@STR0) March 2, 2020
StroShow is on board with this, and so are we.
The Olympics are a young man's game, so we ought to expect Rays super-prospect Wander Franco to be the main event when the Dominican Republic takes the field for Olympic qualifying. But don't count out Bautista just yet, as pulling a Reverse Rick Ankiel absolutely demands every baseball fan's attention.