Call it the bat flip heard around the world.
With the score knotted at 3-3 in the bottom of the seventh inning of a deciding Game 5 of the American League Division Series last October, Jose Bautista crushed a go-ahead, three-run home run to left-center field to put the Toronto Blue Jays up for good, as they eliminated the Texas Rangers.
From the moment the pitch rocketed off Bautista's bat, he knew it was a home run. With thousands of fans at the packed Rogers Centre collectively losing their minds and Bautista feeling every bit of pure exhilaration running through his veins, he chucked his bat up in the air in what instantly became the most notorious bat flip Major League Baseball has ever seen.
"It's the most emotionally charged game that I've ever played," Bautista said afterward to ESPN.
"I didn't plan it ... it just happened," Bautista additionally told ESPN days later, while stating that he didn't disrespect the game nor his opponent.
Well, nearly five months removed from the infamous bat flip, gamers will be able to relive the moment over and over via MLB The Show 16.
On Thursday, the video was tweeted out to the masses by Steve Noah, owner of Operation Sports.
Jose Bautista epic bat flip in MLB The Show 16 https://t.co/nudbEzbsxY
— Steve Noah (@Steve_OS) February 25, 2016
And the Vine clip:
Bautista's bat flip has got to be considered the crown jewel of the game's home run celebrations and specifically, "No Doubt Home Run" swings, of which the game added 50 more to this year's installment.
The fact that gamers will be able to relive this moment over and over is truly special. For baseball purists and gamers alike who thought that Batista disrespected the game, the Rangers and himself with the bat flip, consider this — that was the first postseason of the six-time All-Star's 12-year MLB career. That and the stadium-rocking moment came five days before his 35th birthday, single-handedly sending the Blue Jays to the American League Championship Series (ALCS).
Lots to celebrate.
The fact that one of MLB The Show 16's added features is the capturing of domed stadiums — like the Rogers Centre, which has a retractable roof — and this deal just got a whole lot more special.
