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Bat flip

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A baseball bat rotating in the air as the result of a bat flip

Inbaseball,abat flipis the throwing of abaseball batin such a way that it rotates several times before landing. It is typically done by a batter to show off after hitting ahome run.This is in contrast to the usual practice of dropping the bat straight down as the batter begins running tofirst base.

Asia and Latin America[edit]

Bat flipping is popular in Asian andLatin Americanbaseball leagues.[1]In South Korea, the bat flipping tradition dates back to the 1990s,[2]and has become increasingly frequent in theKorea Baseball Organization.[3][2]It is not considered disrespectful and there is no retaliation in the Korean League. In theKorean language,bat flips are referred asppa-dun(Korean:빠던), aportmanteauof the first syllables of the words for "bat" and "throw".[3][2]The practice is also common in Japan and Taiwan.[3]

Canada and the United States[edit]

In Canada and the United States, bat flips have traditionally been considered rude and inconsistent with baseball etiquette.[3]Traditional etiquette and theunwritten rules of baseballespouse humility and discourage actions which may be interpreted as arrogant orshowing upthe opponents.[4]Torii Hunter,a retiredMajor League Baseballplayer 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 beinghit by a pitch.[3]In April 2015,Los Angeles Dodgersright fielderYasiel Puigstated that he would flip his bat less frequently because he wanted "to show American baseball that [he's] not disrespecting the game."[5]

José Bautista bat flip[edit]

During Game 5 of the2015 American League Division Seriesbetween theTexas Rangersand theToronto Blue Jays,Toronto outfielderJosé Bautistaexecuted what Andrew Keh ofThe New York Timesdescribed as possibly "the most ostentatious bat flip in MLB history" after hitting a go-ahead, three-runhome runoff Rangers relief pitcherSam Dyson.[1]Bautista wrote an article about the bat flip published in November 2015 inThe Players' Tribune.[6]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.[6]Bautista was criticized for the bat flip, which he attributed to a failure to understand differences in cultural backgrounds of players.[7]

The Bautista bat flip became aninternet meme.[7]Fans posted numerous responses to the event onTwitter,and shared videos onVineand othersocial mediawebsites and mobile apps.[1]It was etched ontojack-o'-lanternsforHalloween,[8]printed on T-shirts andChristmas sweaters,[9][10]and was also the subject of a thightattoofor anOshawa,Ontario man.[11][12]It was also commemorated on aTopps2016 Series 1baseball card.[13]Acorn mazein theCanadian provinceofNew Brunswickwas designed with the likeness of the Bautista bat flip.[14]In 2019, the Twitter account MLB GIFS posted aGIFof the bat flip after theToronto Raptorswon the Eastern Conference Finals to advance to their firstNBA Finalsin franchise history.[15]As is common practice in the United States due to theunwritten rules of baseball,in retaliation for the bat flip, Texas pitcherMatt Bushhit Bautista with a pitch in the eighth inning of a game on May 15, 2016 in a game that Texas won 7-6.[16]Shortly after being hit by the pitch, Bautista made an illegally hard slide into Texas second basemanRougned Odor.[16][17]When Odor took exception to the slide, Bautista stepped towards Odor with Odor pushing Bautista, in turn.[17]Bautista cocked a fist, but Odor was faster and punched Bautista in the face knocking his glasses and helmet off.[17][18]Like the bat flip, images of the punch stoked an internet meme.[18]Fans posted numerous images and references on Twitter, Vine, Reddit, and other social media websites.[18]Despite unverified reports to the contrary and despite relatively great demand for signed images, Odor refused to sign any image of the punch, but the image and related content has remained popular on the Internet.[18][19]

Cricket[edit]

In cricket, the term bat flip refers to thetossingof a bat, instead of a coin, to decide which of the 2 teams in a match will be given the option to decide whether it wants to bat or bowl first.[20][21]Additionally, instead of calling "heads" or "tails", the player calling the toss will call "hills" or "flats" depending on which side of the bat they think will land facing up (i.e., the flat side of the bat or the raised side of the bat).

References[edit]

  1. ^abcKeh, Andrew (October 15, 2015)."Baseball reaches a flipping point".The New York Times.Archivedfrom the original on October 22, 2015.RetrievedNovember 11,2015.
  2. ^abcKimes, Mina (October 4, 2016)."The Art of Letting Go: The great Korean bat flip mystery".ESPN.Archivedfrom the original on October 5, 2016.RetrievedOctober 4,2016.
  3. ^abcdeKeh, Andrew (September 2, 2015)."Bat flipping draws shrugs in South Korea but scorn in America".The New York Times.Archivedfrom the original on November 1, 2015.RetrievedNovember 11,2015.
  4. ^Turbow, Jason (October 15, 2015)."On the benefits of embracing the moment, or: Not all bat flips are created equal".The Baseball Codes.Archivedfrom the original on November 15, 2015.RetrievedNovember 11,2015.
  5. ^Hernandez, Dylan (April 14, 2015)."Dodgers' Yasiel Puig wants to cut down on bat flips".Los Angeles Times.Archivedfrom the original on November 18, 2015.RetrievedNovember 17,2015.
  6. ^abBautista, José(November 9, 2015)."Are you flipping kidding me?".The Players' Tribune staff.The Players' Tribune.Archivedfrom the original on November 17, 2015.RetrievedNovember 17,2015.
  7. ^ab"Jose Bautista says bat flip flap down to 'gap' between Dominican and North American players".CBC News.November 12, 2015.Archivedfrom the original on November 16, 2015.RetrievedNovember 17,2015.
  8. ^Clair, Michael (October 18, 2015)."Jose Bautista's bat flip is now Halloween-ready as a jack-o'-lantern".Cut4 (Major League Baseball).Archivedfrom the original on November 18, 2015.RetrievedNovember 17,2015.
  9. ^"Scare Rangers fans at Halloween with new Jose Bautista bat flip T-shirt".The Dallas Morning News.October 15, 2015.Archivedfrom the original on November 17, 2015.RetrievedNovember 17,2015.
  10. ^Singh, David (November 25, 2015)."Joey to the World: Bautista's bat-flip gets Christmas sweater".Sportsnet.Archivedfrom the original on February 29, 2016.RetrievedFebruary 26,2016.
  11. ^Kestler-D'Amours, Jillian (October 16, 2015)."Toronto tattoo artist immortalizes Jose Bautista bat flip".Toronto Star.Archivedfrom the original on November 19, 2015.RetrievedNovember 17,2015.
  12. ^Szekely, Reka (October 23, 2015)."Oshawa man has no regrets about Jose Bautista bat flip tattoo".Oshawa This Week.Metroland Media Group.Archivedfrom the original on October 25, 2015.RetrievedNovember 17,2015.
  13. ^"Jose Bautista's bat flip commemorated on Topps baseball card".CBC News.February 3, 2016.Archivedfrom the original on March 3, 2016.RetrievedFebruary 26,2016.
  14. ^Monagan, Matt (August 31, 2016)."The Joey Bats Bat Flip has now been memorialized in a Canadian cornfield".MLB.Archivedfrom the original on September 14, 2016.RetrievedSeptember 10,2016.
  15. ^"MLB GIFS Twitterissä:".@Drake right now...… "".Archivedfrom the original on July 11, 2019.RetrievedJuly 11,2019.
  16. ^ab"Bad blood: Odor socks Bautista to set off brawl".ESPN.May 15, 2016.RetrievedJuly 12,2023.
  17. ^abcRymer, Zachary D."Rougned Odor Landed the Punch, but Jose Bautista Deserves Strong Punishment Too".Bleacher Report.RetrievedJuly 12,2023.
  18. ^abcd"The 21 funniest memes from Rangers-Blue Jays brawl, including Donald Trump and Bernie Sanders".Dallas News.May 17, 2016.RetrievedJuly 12,2023.
  19. ^"A year later, Rougned Odor has not allowed Jose Bautista punch to define him as a player".Tampa Bay Times.RetrievedJuly 12,2023.
  20. ^"Bat flip to replace coin toss in this winter's Big Bash in Australia".Sky Sports.Archivedfrom the original on December 24, 2018.RetrievedDecember 23,2018.
  21. ^"Big Bash League: Bat flip to replace coin toss for 2018-19".BBC Sport.December 10, 2018.Archivedfrom the original on December 25, 2018.RetrievedDecember 23,2018.

External links[edit]

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