Seven years ago today, the bat flip heard around the world took place.
It was Game 5 of the 2015 ALDS between the Texas Rangers and the Toronto Blue Jays.
Toronto had lost the first two games of the series at home, but had battled back and won the next two in Texas to force the decisive Game 5.
After the Rangers had gone ahead in the top of the seventh, Toronto had tied it at three apiece, bringing Jose Bautista to the plate.
What followed was an epic, towering three-run homer to put the Blue Jays ahead.
Bautista then flipped the bat, and the crowd went insane.
Seven years ago today … pic.twitter.com/d1onpD21cJ
— MLB Vault (@MLBVault) October 14, 2022
Bat Flip Heard ‘Round The World
Of course, what followed afterwards was an epic brawl between the two sides, but the damage had already been done.
The Blue Jays had taken a 6-3 lead and they held on to advance to their first ALCS since 1993.
But this was a classic moment in time that nobody is ever going to forget.
It started the trend of players flipping their bats after hitting home runs.
This one was the original.
This was the one that was heard all around the baseball world.
It let everybody know that the Blue Jays were back and were a force to be reckoned with.
It was a sign of changing times.
No longer did people care about winning and losing the right way.
It was no longer about being professional and playing with class.
It was about a changing of the guard in baseball.
New teams, new players, and new attitudes were upon us, and the game of baseball had forever changed.
To this day, no bat flip has come anywhere close to this one, and it will be a long time before one does.
