Nothing in baseball is more exciting than a perfectly timed bat flip.
But what is the best bat flip of all time? If you ask Ron Darling, it just might be Jose Bautista’s emphatic bat flip after his go-ahead, three-run homer in the decisive Game 5 of the 2015 American League Division Series between the Blue Jays and Rangers.
“That was one of the greatest bat flips in the history of the game,” Darling said. “100 years from now, when they show the top 10 bat flips, his will still be there.”
Darling’s comments came during the inaugural episode of Unwritten, a podcast on baseball’s sacred unspoken rules with former National League MVP Jimmy Rollins, who happens to be a huge fan of Bautista’s bat flip celebration as well.
“He gave everyone that was watching chills,” Rollins said. “He’s known as a power hitter. Everyone in the ballpark knew he had one job. He’s not trying to get a walk, not trying to get a single. He has one job, and that’s to hit a home run. And he demolished the ball. I enjoyed every second of it.”
Each episode will delve into the history of an unwritten rule, discussing notable moments of the rule being broken or enforced. The pair will also ask honest questions about whether those rules are good for the sport.
“Baseball has dozens of unwritten rules about how to act on and off the field,” Darling said of the podcast’s focus. “If a player violates them, there may be consequences. But there’s no committee to review those unwritten rules, even as they’re constantly changing. So that’s what Jimmy and I are doing on this show. Each week, we’ll break down one of baseball’s unwritten rules. We’ll define the rule as we understand it today, explore its origins and context in baseball history, and then decide if it still has a place in MLB’s future.”