By Steve Keating
TORONTO (Reuters) - Toronto Blue Jays outfielder Jose Bautista was an unheralded journeyman who could walk the streets without attracting a second glance a year ago.
But as the Blue Jays launched a new season against the Minnesota Twins on Friday, Bautista was no longer a stranger but one of Toronto's most popular and recognizable athletes, the reigning Major League home run king and face of a franchise.
"Wow," smiled Bautista, as the media engulfed his locker. "It's all a little bit surreal but for the most part it has been for the better, not the worst.
"I'm in a good place, where I'm wanted, where I want to be so I'm a very happy guy.
Slamming a club record and Major League best 54 homers earned Bautista fan support and a five-year, $65 million contract from the Jays, who are hoping the 30-year-old from the Dominican Republic will not be a one-season wonder.
Until last year, Bautista was more plugger than slugger, better known for his cannon arm than a booming bat, having never hit more than 16 homers in any of his six previous seasons.
In 2004, he also held the major leagues in a far less flattering category, most teams played for in a single season.
He began the year with Baltimore, who had taken him in the Rule Five draft then was claimed off waivers by the Tampa Bay Rays, who later sold him to the Kansas City Royals.
Kansas City then traded him to the New York Mets who shipped him to Pittsburgh, bringing his career full circle returning to the Pirates, the team that had originally drafted him in 2000.
Bautista spent three full seasons in Pittsburgh but it was not until he was traded to Toronto in 2008 that he finally found the groove that all major league hitters search for.
Like Tiger Woods, Bautista worked through a swing overhaul last season, the little tweaks and changes producing a career year no one saw coming.
"Whatever I did last season seemed to work and I'm going to try to remain consistent with my approach and the things that allowed me to be successful," said Bautista.
"I'm going to keep my goals realistic, I'm not expecting to do something out of the ordinary.
"I don't base my success on the number of home runs I hit but I do want to be productive, I do want to drive runs in."
The big question is whether he can follow up and while no one is expecting him to match last year's astonishing performance he will be counted on to produce while carrying the weight and expectations that come with his new contract.
"Our expectations of Jose are the same they were a year ago and that's not a number of home runs hit," said Blue Jays first-year manager John Farrell.
"It's his preparation day in and day out, that's what allowed him to put himself in such a position to have success.
"I think that's one thing we are fortunate to have in Jose, he's a very smart player as well as very talented."
(Editing by Greg Stutchbury)
