By Steve Keating
TORONTO (Reuters) – Jose Bautista slammed 288 home runs as a member of the Toronto Blue Jays but the slugger was feted on Saturday for an audacious bat flip as much as his game winning hit as his name was added to the Rogers Centre Level of Excellence.
There are only a handful of indelible Canadian sporting moments, Sidney Crosby’s golden goal at the 2010 Vancouver Olympics, Joe Carter’s walk off home run to win the 1993 World Series and Kawhi Leonard’s Game Seven buzzer in the Eastern Conference semi-finals that sent the Toronto Raptors on their way to an NBA championship among them.
Bautista’s moment stands out in that it did not contribute to a title but was seen by many as a catalyst for a cultural shift in the sport, signalling to players that they could show emotions and personality on the diamond.
Deadlocked at 3-3 in the seventh inning of the ill-tempered fifth and final game of the 2015 American League Division Series against the Texas Rangers, Bautista crushed a three run homer that would earn Toronto a dramatic 6-3 victory.
As the ball sailed over the left field fence, Bautista stood like a statue admiring his work before turning and violently tossing his bat in a gesture that was as much defiance as it was celebration.
“I wasn’t planning to flip the bat, I never thought about it in advance,” Bautista told Toronto Life after signing a one day contract on Friday that allowed him to retire as a Blue Jay.
“It was a reaction to the moment, and then the stadium exploded.
“I don’t remember anything after I hit the ball.
“I was surprised by some of the conversations that happened after the fact. A lot of people tried to turn it into a debate about disrespecting the unwritten rules of baseball.
“There were definitely two camps, but look at today: bat flips are way more accepted across the league. Everybody loves them.”
‘Joey Bats’ signature bat flip is now imitated at ball diamonds across North America from pee wee to the major leagues, but in the immediate aftermath the emotional Dominican came under widespread criticism.
The outfielder’s swagger was labelled as disrespectful to Rangers pitcher Sam Dyson in particular and the sport in general.
But eight years later players are expressing themselves at every opportunity from choreographed home run rituals to post game celebrations.
“It was an honour to play for you,” Bautista told the capacity crowd before his name was revealed on the Level of Excellence.
“There is a baseball game to be played I don’t want to delay it any further. Let’s play ball”
(Reporting by Steve Keating in Toronto)
