Former Blue Jays player José Bautista invests in a Las Vegas soccer team.
In a statement, Bautista said, “I am excited to be involved with the world’s game as a soccer fan and former professional athlete.” “Since I left professional baseball, I have watched with great interest the remarkable rise of soccer in the United States, especially with the USL, which I have been following for a few years.”
From 2004, when he first joined the Baltimore Orioles, until 2018, when he was a member of the Philadelphia Phillies, Bautista was a major league player. From 2008 until 2017, the aggressive outfielder established his reputation with Toronto. In 2010, Bautista set a single-season record for the Blue Jays with an MLB-high 54 home runs. With 288 home runs over his Jays career, he is second only to Carlos Delgado in club history.
With more home runs than any other player in the league from 2010 to 2015, Bautista won three Silver Slugger Awards (2010, 2011, and 2014) and was a member of six consecutive all-star teams. Upon his retirement, he had hit 344 home runs. In August, he was named to Rogers Centre’s Blue Jays Level of Excellence.
Before Marucci Sports, a baseball equipment startup that was acquired by Compass Diversified Holdings in 2020, was founded, Bautista served as an early equity partner, lead investor, and member of the board. Stakes in Canada Goose, which went public in 2017, and Endy Sleep, which Sleep Country purchased in 2018, are examples of further commercial holdings.
He is currently employed at the household financial management company Aquilance as a partner and senior adviser. In 2018, the downtown Cashman Field-based Las Vegas soccer team joined the USL Championship. At 3-21-10 last year, it was the bottom squad in the 12-member Western Conference.
Jose’s vision and beliefs are a wonderful fit for our league’s goals and the good work our clubs are doing in their communities, according to a statement from Justin Papadakis, the USL’s chief real estate officer and deputy CEO. “José is the most recent in a string of elite athletes to invest in USL clubs, demonstrating the true value proposition of investing in soccer today and our league’s growing prominence in the professional sports sector.”