Bat flip

In baseball, a bat flip is the exaggerated throwing of a baseball bat after making contact with the baseball during an at bat, typically after a hit. This is in contrast to the usual practice of dropping the bat as the batter commences running toward first base.

Asia and Latin America

Bat flipping is popular in Asian and Latin American baseball leagues. In South Korea, the bat flipping tradition is decades old, but has become increasingly frequent in the Korea Baseball Organization. In the Korean language, bat flips are referred as ppa-dun (Korean: 빠던), a portmanteau of the "first syllables of the words for 'bat' and 'throw'". The practice is also common in Japan and Taiwan, and the respective professional leagues Nippon Professional Baseball and Chinese Professional Baseball League.

United States and Canada

In the United States, bat flips have traditionally been considered rude and inconsistent with baseball etiquette. Traditional etiquette and the unwritten rules of baseball espouse humility and discourage actions which may be interpreted as arrogant or showing up the opponents.

Torii Hunter, a retired Major League Baseball player and fan of bat flips in Korean baseball, has stated that a player throwing a bat in such a manner during a game in the United States would likely face retaliation in a subsequent at bat, such as being hit by a pitch.

In April 2015, Los Angeles Dodgers right fielder Yasiel Puig stated that he would flip his bat less frequently because he wanted "to show American baseball that I'm not disrespecting the game".

José Bautista bat flip

Toronto Blue Jays right fielder José Bautista in 2015

Unlike in the United States, in Canada, bat flips have less of a negative connotation since the 2015 Major League Baseball postseason, though not at the extent of Asian or Latin American baseball. During the rubber match of the 2015 American League Division Series between the Toronto Blue Jays and Texas Rangers at the Blue Jays' home stadium of the Rogers Centre in Toronto, Ontario, Blue Jays right fielder José Bautista executed what Andrew Keh of The New York Times described as possibly "the most ostentatious bat flip in M.L.B. history" after hitting a go-ahead, three-run home run off Rangers relief pitcher Sam Dyson. Bautista wrote an article about the bat flip published in November 2015 in The Players' Tribune. He said he "didn’t plan it. It just happened", and that he was "caught up in the emotion of the moment" when he flipped the bat. Bautista was criticized for the bat flip, which he attributed to a failure to understand differences in cultural backgrounds of players.

Members of the Rangers objected to the bat flip, with Rangers starting pitcher Derek Holland stating he did not object to a home run celebration, "but the way he did it". After the home run, Dyson approached Blue Jays designated hitter Edwin Encarnación, the next batter in the batting order, and "told him that Jose needs to calm that down, respect the game more". During the post-game press conference, manager Jeff Banister stated that "we respect everybody", which the media interpreted as a strong suggestion of disapproval of Bautista's actions.

The Bautista bat flip became an internet meme. Fans posted numerous responses to the event on Twitter, and shared videos on Vine and other social media websites and mobile apps. It was etched onto Jack-o'-lanterns for Halloween, printed on T-shirts and Christmas sweaters, and was also the subject of a thigh tattoo for an Oshawa, Ontario man. It was also commemorated on a Topps 2016 Series 1 baseball card.

However, Bautista's bat flip may be the impetus of the Jays–Rangers brawl on May 15, 2016 in the Rangers' home stadium of Globe Life Park in Arlington, Texas, in which Rangers relief pitcher Matt Bush intentionally threw a pitch at Bautista, Bautista making an illegal slide to second base, and Rangers second baseman Rougned Odor punching Bautista in the face, thereby igniting the brawl. Bautista was suspended for one game for the incident, while Odor was suspended for eight.

External links

• José Bautista's 2015 ALDS bat flip on YouTube