Players flipping their bats after hitting home runs has long been polarizing, though I wonder if we've gotten to the point that the people who complain are such a minority that it's pointless to keep worrying about it. Regardless, way back in 2015, the naysayers were a sizable portion of baseball fandom and in the middle of October we saw possibly the most famous (notorious?) bat "flip" -- it was more a throw -- in baseball history.
That would be Jose Bautista's go-ahead, three-run blast in Game 5 of the ALDS against the Rangers:
That is probably the second-biggest home run in Blue Jays history after Joe Carter's World Series clincher.
Not only did the benches clear as a result, but things bled over in next season as far as the Rangers were concerned and Rougned Odor became a hero to many Rangers fans:
There's so much history stemming from that home run. It just so happens the ball Bautista hit is up for auction now at lelands.com, too. It'll cost a pretty penny, with the current bid as of this posting being $4,235. The bidding ends at 10 p.m. ET on February 1. Go nuts, Bautista bat flip fans.
