José Joaquín Bautista Arias (born July 25, 1964) is a Dominican-born former right-handed pitcher who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) from 1988 to 1997.[1]
Early and personal life
Bautista was born in Baní, in the Dominican Republic. He is observantly Jewish, born to a Dominican father and an Israeli mother.[1][2][3] His mother's family was originally from Russia, as is his wife.
As a rookie, he went 6–15 with 76 strikeouts and a 4.30 ERA in 1712⁄3innings pitched, including 25 starts and three complete games.[5] That was his best season as an Oriole.
He holds the MLB record for fewest pitches in a complete game of 8 innings or more. He threw 70 pitches in a 1-0 Orioles loss to the Seattle Mariners on September 30, 1988.
He resurfaced as a relief pitcher with the Cubs in 1993, going 10–3 with a 2.82 ERA and 1112⁄3 innings in 58 appearances (7 as a starter).[5] He kept batters to a .193 batting average in games that were late and close. That was his best Major League season.
After going 4–5 for Chicago in 1994 while pitching in 58 games (second in the league), he pitched with San Francisco the next two years and spent 1997 with Detroit and St. Louis in his last Major League season.[5]
In a nine-season career, Bautista posted a 32–42 record with 328 strikeouts and a 4.04 ERA in 312 games, including three saves, 49 starts, 4 complete games and 6852⁄3 innings pitched.[5]
Through 2010, he was fifth all-time in career games pitched (312; directly behind Steve Stone) among Jewish major league baseball players.[6]