The career of Jose Bautista is a fascinating one.  After years of obscurity, a switch in his batting stance took him from journeyman to All-Star and to someone we deemed worthy of discussion.

Seriously, it came out of nowhere.  At 29, with his fifth team (Toronto), it clicked.  Bautista would be an All-Star for the first time, and he shot up from 13 to 54 Home Runs and would win the American League Home Run Title.  He earned his second HR strap the year after (43), and this was year two of six straight All-Star Games.  The power hitter would collect two more 35-plus homer years for the Blue Jays, and he and his bat flip took them to the playoffs in both 2015 and 2016.

Bautista finished in the top six in MVP voting four times and was a Silver Slugger three times.

His run with Toronto made him relevant and allowed him to become a player who would smack 344 Home Runs. 

Roghned Odur won’t consider Jose Bautista for the Baseball Hall of Fame, but others just might!

John Axford had his best years early in his career with the Milwaukee Brewers.  In 2011, he won the Rolaids Relief Man of the Year while leading the National League with 46 Saves.  Axford finished ninth in Cy Young voting that season.  He had three other years where he had at least 24 Saves, two of them as a Brewer.

Jim Johnson played the first half of his career with the Baltimore Orioles, and in 2012 and 2013, he would lead the American League in Saves.  An All-Star in 2012, Johnson finished seventh in Cy Young voting and was also the Rolaids Relief Award winner.  Johnson finished first in Win Probability Added that season.

An innings eater throughout his career, James Shields used his fastball and changeup to be a solid starting pitcher over a long Major League career.