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Big League Stew - MLB

Big League Stew

Thu Apr 07 11:30am EDT

Jose Bautista had a very tiny reason for leaving the Blue Jays

By 'Duk

The news sounded ominous when Toronto Blue Jays skipper John Farrell announced that slugger Jose Bautista(notes) would miss this entire Oakland series due to "family reasons."

Thankfully, it was not bad news.

It was, in fact, a girl!

As the Blue Jays jump out to a surprise first-place lead with the Baltimore Orioles in the AL East standings, Bautista is back in Florida after the birth of his first daughter, Estela Marie.

The arrival of Bautista's daughter apparently qualifies as big news in Toronto. The Star even went as far as to publish a link to the Bautista's baby registry at Target and Babies 'R Us. Is it an invasion of their privacy? Most definitely. But how else is a hardcore Blue Jays fan going to get that $34.99 bottle warmer to his or her favorite home run hitter?

Seriously, though: You're over the line, Star! Just because Bautista signed a $65 million contract in the offseason doesn't mean he and his wife are disqualified from enjoying the normal gift-giving traditions that follow a newborn. Yeah, he has a registry where his friends and family can get recommendations on buying them gifts, but what parents of a newborn don't?  

At any rate, Bautista is expected back for this weekend's series in Anaheim, but he's already missed out on a few happenings with his team. The Jays took the first two games from Oakland to move to 4-1, saw Yunel Escobar(notes) leave Wednesday's game after a scary Justin Morneau-like collision and even started talking about playing a future series over in Montreal.

However, Bautista and injured pitcher Brandon Morrow(notes) have not been far from their teammates' minds during their absences. Blue Jays on a stick!

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