The 5 greatest outfielders in Toronto Blue Jays history

UNSPECIFIED - CIRCA 1985: (L-R) George Bell #11, Lloyd Moseby #15 and Jesse Barfield #29 of the Toronto Blue Jays poses together for this portrait during the Major League Baseball season circa 1985. Barfield played for the Blue Jays from 1981-89. (Photo by Focus on Sport/Getty Images)
UNSPECIFIED - CIRCA 1985: (L-R) George Bell #11, Lloyd Moseby #15 and Jesse Barfield #29 of the Toronto Blue Jays poses together for this portrait during the Major League Baseball season circa 1985. Barfield played for the Blue Jays from 1981-89. (Photo by Focus on Sport/Getty Images)
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TORONTO, ON – OCTOBER 14: Jose Bautista #19 of the Toronto Blue Jays flips his bat up in the air after he hits a three-run home run in the seventh inning against the Texas Rangers in game five of the American League Division Series at Rogers Centre on October 14, 2015 in Toronto, Canada. (Photo by Tom Szczerbowski/Getty Images)
TORONTO, ON – OCTOBER 14: Jose Bautista #19 of the Toronto Blue Jays flips his bat up in the air after he hits a three-run home run in the seventh inning against the Texas Rangers in game five of the American League Division Series at Rogers Centre on October 14, 2015 in Toronto, Canada. (Photo by Tom Szczerbowski/Getty Images)

Number 1 — Jose Bautista

Was there really any surprise who would be perched at number one on the list? After all, outside of Joe Carter, Jose Bautista has created some of the most memorable moments in Toronto Blue Jays history.

Bautista played for 10 of his 15 MLB seasons in a Blue Jays uniform, finishing his career in Toronto with the most bWAR of any Blue Jays player (38.3). Making six consecutive All-Star Game appearances between 2010 and 2015, Bautista finished in the top eight of AL MVP voting in four of those seasons.

His best year came in 2011 when he led all of baseball with 43 home runs (following a 2010 campaign where he paced MLB with 54 homers), 132 walks, an OPS of 1.052, and a 182 OPS+. He was also intentionally walked an AL-high 24 times.

Originally drafted by the Pittsburgh Pirates in the 20th round of the 2000 MLB draft, Bautista was a part of five other organizations before finally making his Blue Jays debut in 2008. He would see action during his 15-year career in seven different uniforms, before retiring after the 2018 season with 344 home runs and 975 RBI to his credit. From that number, 288 homers and 766 RBI came in Toronto.

Another thing not often associated with Bautista was his ability to be in the right place at the right time in the outfield. From 2010 through 2014, Bautista had the most double plays turned as a right fielder in four of those five seasons (16 in all while leading the league those years).