DUNEDIN, Fla. – Thanks to the Kansas City Royals’ miracle playoff drive to the World Series last season, baseball’s longest active playoff drought now belongs to the Toronto Blue Jays. It has been 22 years since Joe Carter hit his World Series-winning walkoff homer off Mitch Williams and the Blue Jays have not been to the postseason since.
It’s actually the longest playoff drought in professional sports, and team brass, fans, and players want to see it end. None more than All-Star slugger Jose Bautista.
Bautista is the longest-serving current Blue Jay, about to enter his eighth season with the club. In that time he’s been a part of four winning seasons but the team has never finished higher than third in the tough America League East. He has also become a perennial MVP-candidate during his time in Toronto, having gone to five consecutive All-Star Games and twice leading the majors in home runs. But during his first appearance at Blue Jays spring training on Friday Bautista said he would give it all up for a taste of the postseason.
The Blue Jays fancy themselves contenders in the AL East this season, but will in fact need Bautista to have a great year to end the drought, especially with their outfield recently being depleted. Bautista is also in the last year of his five-year deal with the Blue Jays, though there is a team option for 2016. But Bautista, 34, wants to win now and shake the title of best active hitter never to make the playoffs. He has been vocal in the past about Blue Jays brass not doing enough to get them over the hump.
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The Blue Jays made a big move this offseason when they acquired third baseman Josh Donaldson from the Oakland Athletics. Bautista approves, and sees it as a move that could help the Jays take the next step.
With Donaldson on board and a healthy Edwin Encarnacion, the Blue Jays have a potent 3-4-5 in the batting order. If it all works out, Bautista may be able to do less of the heavy lifting and get his wish for a postseason berth.
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Ian Denomme is an editor and writer for Yahoo Sports. Email him at denomme@yahoo-inc.com or follow him on Twitter.
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