Sit down, Yasiel Puig! There is a new king of the bat flip and his name is Joey Bats. Christmas has come early and José Bautista is the jolly St. Nick. The big man in red left us a beautiful present under the tree this year: the greatest bat flip of all time.
The seventh inning of the final ALDS game between the Toronto Blue Jays and the Texas Rangers will go down in history as one of the most exciting innings of baseball ever played. With the game tied at 2-2, the Rangers caught a huge break. The Toronto catcher, Martin, attempted to throw the ball back to the pitcher, but the ball ricocheted off the bat of the Ranger at the plate and bounced away. After the botched throw, Texas' man on third base, Odor, was able to come home and bring the Rangers the go-ahead run. Because the home plate umpire originally called the play dead, Toronto thought the run should not count, but the final call went in favor of Texas. This brought forth the wrath of Canada.
In the bottom half of the inning, the hostile Canadian crowd proved to be too much for the Rangers infielders. Four errors allowed the Blue Jays to tie the game at three runs apiece. With two men on and two outs, a lonely Blue Jay stepped up to the plate. José Bautista wasn't the hero Canada deserved. He was the hero Canada needed. Only one thing could happen next.
GONE FOREVER! This three-run shot ended up sending Toronto to the ALCS, but this is more than just a simple go-ahead homer. This is a statement. This is an artwork. This is one of the most beautiful things to happen to planet Earth.
The bat flip itself puts José Bautista on the list of Canada's favorite people. He is right up there next to Michael Bublé, Sidney Crosby, and Robin Scherbatsky. However, Bautista's bat flip shouldn't just belong to America's friendly neighbors to the north. It should belong to anyone who has ever had to deal with the B.S. that life throws at us.
We've all had tough times. That's the way life works. Sometimes to pull ourselves out of these desperate moments, all we need is a little hope. Toronto was going through tough times. They should've been in the lead, but some controversial umpiring had left them tied in a win or go home game. Bautista was the hope that Toronto needed. The bat flip was the ultimate symbol of this hope. When we finally dig our way through the muck and mud of life, we owe it to ourselves to do a bat flip. Were you able to bring your GPA up to keep your scholarship? Flip the bat. Was the school cafeteria actually serving edible food last night? Flip the bat. Are you a Dominican swinging a piece of American lumber in Canada? Flip the bat.
