Career
His major league career began in 1996. He played for the Oakland A's, the Arizona Diamondbacks, the Toronto Blue Jays, the Baltimore Orioles, and the Montreal Expos, before moving on to Japan for the 2005 season. After returning from Japan he played for the Minnesota Twins and then the Washington Nationals, playing at first base, second base, shortstop, third base and designated hitter.
Batista was notable for his unusual, extremely-open batting stance in which he would stand almost directly facing the pitcher during the delivery before stepping in to swing. He had good power, hitting 221 home runs, but had only a .251 batting average and seldom walked, with a .298 OBP.
He was elected to the American League All-Star team twice in (2000 and 2002).
Read more about this topic: Tony Batista
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