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Bautista's top 5 Blue Jays moments

Dan Hamilton-USA TODAY Sports / Reuters

The Toronto Blue Jays welcomed a familiar face back to the Rogers Centre on Tuesday by agreeing to a reported one-year contract with outfielder Jose Bautista.

A return to Toronto seemed the most natural fit for both parties, especially Bautista, who's played for the Blue Jays for the past nine seasons, racking up six All-Star appearances while slashing .261/.382/.528 with 265 home runs.

More so than just his stats, however, Bautista has become lionized by the Toronto faithful for the memories he's created while plying his trade north of the border.

Here are Bautista's five best moments as a Blue Jay:

No. 1

In 2008, Bautista was traded from the Pittsburgh Pirates to the Blue Jays in mid-August. It took him nine games, but the slugger belted his first home run as a member of his new team. It was only his fourth start in Toronto, and it paved the way for one heck of a career.

No. 54

In 2010, Bautista's breakout season, it seemed as though he hit a home run in every game. That year he played in 161 games and crushed 54 home runs, which gave him the franchise single-season home run record. The initial mark was 47, set by George Bell in 1987, and it's unlikely anyone will top it. It's also worth mentioning that he hit 12 more homers than Albert Pujols, who finished second that season.

The punch

Whether or not you view this as a positive moment, this was a huge moment in Bautista's career with Toronto. To start the 2016 season, the Blue Jays and Texas Rangers got into it after Bautista slid in hard at second base. Rougned Odor didn't take too kindly to it, and walloped Bautista square in the jaw, prompting a benches-clearing brawl.

Revenge home run vs. Orioles

On April 21, 2015, Bautista got revenge on the Baltimore Orioles, and oh, was it ever sweet. Right-hander Jason Garcia - who had already plunked Ryan Goins earlier in the game - threw a heater behind Bautista in the seventh inning with his team down 11-4. Naturally, Bautista was livid, but in the same at-bat, he launched a towering home run to left-center and took his time as he rounded the bases.

The bat flip

Of course this was going to be on the list. This is without a doubt one of the most memorable home runs ever in Blue Jays history. So much so, it was even mentioned in the same conversation as Joe Carter's World Series-clinching homer. In Game 5 of the 2015 American League Division Series against the Rangers, Bautista blasted a go-ahead home run off Sam Dyson, and needless to say, the rest is history.

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