Some professional baseball players took time to give back to their hometowns and alma maters Saturday, as the Chipola Indian baseball team welcomed in alumni for their 5th Annual Chipola Alumni Baseball weekend. Current Indians kicked off the day with a game against Walters State, but all eyes were on former Indian and current Toronto Blue Jay Jose Bautista, who played at Chipola in 2001 and 2001.
Bautista is a 2x MLB All-Star, and this past season was the second year in a row he led the bigs in homeruns. After warming up and signing autographs, Bautista and other alumni, as well as Marianna native Jeff Mathis, participated in a home-run derby.
Mathis was with the Angels until December, when he was traded to Bautista's Blue Jays. Both agreeing they're looking forward to playing with each other in the near future.
"The day he got traded, I got on the phone and talked to him for a little bit," says Bautista. "He's going to enjoy his time in Toronto, it's a great place to be. People are nice, just like here in Marianna. I think he was ready for a change. It's now his time to go to Toronto, and get a fresh start over there."
"Obviously this will be my first time being traded or being with another organization, and to have a guy like that, a friend of mine with another team, is really an advantage for me, and I'm excited for it," says Mathis.
Bautista went on to say giving back to Chipola is a no-brainer.
"Having lived here for two full years, coming back brings a lot of memories. Seeing all these familiar faces that I haven't seen for a while is a great feeling, knowing that I've always felt at home here, coming back feels really good. That's why I've always liked coming back here, and I know the baseball program does things the right way, Coach Johnson is a class act, and any way that I can help him and the program, I'm glad to do so."
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