Fernando Tatis Jr. Chucked His Twig To The Moon, But Don’t Slander Joey Bats, It’s Not The Greatest Bat Flip Ever
Fernando Tatis Jr. was 2-for-8 in the Wild Card Series before remembering he was Fernando Tatis Jr. Then he went off. 2 home runs to fuel the Padres 11-9 win in Game 2, forcing the decisive Game 3 today. But more importantly than anything he did on the field was the bat flip he provided baseball fans, and more importantly, the Internet who was bored out of their mind watching that lame Broncos-Jets Thursday Night game.
Thank you, Fernando.
This was the kind of flip you’ll see in every MLB commercial for the next ten years – even though MLB doesn’t fully embrace “letting the kids play.” (See: the suspensions of Joe Kelly, Tim Anderson, etc.)
Like Tatis, let’s just stand here and admire this one for a while. I mean, the dude puts an exclamation mark on their one-run lead, after trailing 4-0 early in the game, and the millisecond the ball leaves the bat, you knew his bat was getting launched like it was in Space-X.
It’s glorious.
But look, let’s not act our millennial age here and assume that just because it’s a great bat flip, that it’s all of a sudden the BEST bat flip. I mean, damn. How short are our attention spans?
If this was some 17-year-old’s account on Twitter, I’d be more understanding. But this is MLB’s official account. Move over, Jose Bautista?! Excuse me? Did Rougned Odor punch Joey Bats so hard it concussed you guys?! Have we already forgotten about Jose Bautista’s contribution to bat flip culture? Have we already forggetn that there used to be sports with actual fans in attendance?
Just take a moment to relive this gem.
Dude crushed that ball and hocked his lumber so far, the Texas Rangers really haven’t been the same since. They’ve yet to recover.
Jose Bautista is the godfather of bat flips. Before this moment, they were still frowned upon and usually earned you a 98mph four seamer to the kidney. But in this moment, people realized bat flips are baseball’s dunk. People realized we actually like bat flips. And from this moment on, they became universally accepted, and even more so, argued for. It’s why baseball built an entire movement around it.
So I will say again: do NOT slander Jose Bautista’s name. But rather, you should be kissing his ring. He is the Godflipper.
I guess this officially makes me old, for having to remind people of baseball’s most epic bat flip from *checks notes* four years ago. But until a more powerful bat flip, in the 8th inning of a winner-take-all game, in a stadium as loud and insane as Rodgers Centre was that day, I will always carry the water for this moment.
Especially when the up-and-coming new favorite bat flip is coming in only the 7th inning of a win-or-go-home game for the Padres in an EMPTY stadium. Again, don’t get me wrong. FTJ’s bat flip was sick as hell. But it’s by no means the greatest of all time. Maybe second greatest.
P.S. – To any Cardinals fans out there hitting with the same old garb that Tatis deserves one in the ear hole for the bat flip…
…just remember the Cardinals have a top 5 postseason bat flip of all time with Tom Lawless in an era where bat flips weren’t as celebrated or accepted as they are today.
Damn, Lawless. Get you some, big man.
And of course, lest we forget Yadier Molina’s bat flip chuck.
So let’s maybe cool it with the “wishing harm and injury to a 21-year-old player having fun on a baseball field” takes. If you get dunked on, it’s ok for your opponent to celebrate a little.
