Jose Bautista: Are you flipping kidding me?

[Rhettmatic]

Bautista wrote on the dumb bat flip controversy:

http://www.theplayerstribune.com/jose-bautista-bat-flip/

After the game, some of the backlash from small sections of the media took on a familiar tone. I’ve heard this before.

“Disrespectful, mocking, showboating.”

One MLB Network analyst went as far as questioning my “character” and my “leadership.”

Were these same opinions expressed when Carlton Fisk “waved” his home run fair in ’75? Or when Joe Carter jumped around the bases in ’93? When I was growing up and I watched iconic moments like those, I was so caught up in the emotion that I got chills. I wasn’t thinking about the implications. I was fully immersed in the moment and enjoying it. I loved Cal Ripken Jr. for his poise and control. But I also admired Reggie Jackson for showing his passion and flair.

[UN-Owen]

Fisk was motioning to the ball. Carter was celebrating.

Bautista stood there as if to say "Look what I just did. I'm so awesome"


I think he comes across as a narcissistic diva in much the same way Vince Carter behaved during most of his career with Toronto


EDIT: This isn't about unwritten rules. He can cartwheel around the bases if he wants. There's just something about the way he conducts himself that turns me off as a fan


EDIT #2: He doesn't seem to be having fun when he plays. I never see him smiling during a game. If a pitcher throws inside Bautista stares him down as if it's personal. Based on what I've seen of him he seems like an unhappy, unpleasant guy - the anti Tony Gwynn

[Boogie!]

Fisk was motioning to the ball. Carter was celebrating.

Bautista stood there as if to say "Look what I just did. I'm so awesome"


I think he comes across as a narcissistic diva in much the same way Vince Carter behaved during most of his career with Toronto

lmao...

not even close...

and yes, even if he did feel that way at the time, people need to understand context... its no different than posterizing someone and then letting them know... that **** happens all the time in the nba and yet its accepted and people actually understand the hype... the only reason **** like this is a big deal in baseball is because its been an unwritten rule for centuries, although now its outdated and yet you have certain players still bitching and moaning about it... i seriously dont get it... i have no idea how it somehow shows disrespect... maybe it shows cockiness on a players part... so what... when pitchers strike guys out and freak out, no one says anything about showing hitters up... its just a load of crap tbh.

[Santoki]

Fisk was motioning to the ball. Carter was celebrating.

Bautista stood there as if to say "Look what I just did. I'm so awesome"


I think he comes across as a narcissistic diva in much the same way Vince Carter behaved during most of his career with Toronto

lmao...

not even close...

and yes, even if he did feel that way at the time, people need to understand context... its no different than posterizing someone and then letting them know... that **** happens all the time in the nba and yet its accepted and people actually understand the hype... the only reason **** like this is a big deal in baseball is because its been an unwritten rule for centuries, although now its outdated and yet you have certain players still bitching and moaning about it... i seriously dont get it... i have no idea how it somehow shows disrespect... maybe it shows cockiness on a players part... so what... when pitchers strike guys out and freak out, no one says anything about showing hitters up... its just a load of crap tbh.

Like Bautista wrote in the article Babe Ruth was calling his shot all the way back in 1932. It's sports. It's meant to be entertainment. Jose takes way too much flak from the media and a fairly large portion of the fanbase when he's been, when it's all said and done, possibly the best-performing Blue Jay of all time.

[Randle McMurphy]

Jose Bautista is a goddamn legend. He can flip as many bats as he pleases.

[Yeezus_]

Wish he picked up the bat and did another bat flip tbh

[Boogie!]

Fisk was motioning to the ball. Carter was celebrating.

Bautista stood there as if to say "Look what I just did. I'm so awesome"


I think he comes across as a narcissistic diva in much the same way Vince Carter behaved during most of his career with Toronto

lmao...

not even close...

and yes, even if he did feel that way at the time, people need to understand context... its no different than posterizing someone and then letting them know... that **** happens all the time in the nba and yet its accepted and people actually understand the hype... the only reason **** like this is a big deal in baseball is because its been an unwritten rule for centuries, although now its outdated and yet you have certain players still bitching and moaning about it... i seriously dont get it... i have no idea how it somehow shows disrespect... maybe it shows cockiness on a players part... so what... when pitchers strike guys out and freak out, no one says anything about showing hitters up... its just a load of crap tbh.

Like Bautista wrote in the article Babe Ruth was calling his shot all the way back in 1932. It's sports. It's meant to be entertainment. Jose takes way too much flak from the media and a fairly large portion of the fanbase when he's been, when it's all said and done, possibly the best-performing Blue Jay of all time.

its not even about the fact its entertainment tbh... the issue here is that within the sport guys get butthurt for relics of ideologies that arent even logical... lets break it down rationally here... a guy hits a home run... hes feeling himself. he stares at his bomb for a bit and flips his bat... whats disrespectful about that? why, as a pitcher should i be upset? the only rational explanation i can think of is the fact that maybe he thinks its making him look bad as a pitcher and hes **** on his pride... the problem with that is, NO ONE GIVES A DAMN ABOUT THE PITCHER! when a guy hits a bomb, PEOPLE TALK ABOUT THE GUY HITTING THE BOMB. no one says, OMG THAT PITCHER IS SO ****, GET HIM OUT OF THE LEAGUE NOW BECAUSE HE JUST GAVE UP A HOME RUN. therefore, the pitcher really has no reason to have an issue with it. you gave up a home run, you **** up, get over it and move on. or feel sorry for yourself and dont. whatever you wanna do, just accept you **** up and dont make whatever the hitter does your business... its a sport, intensity and passion is part of it... again, the unwritten rule is really just a load of crap and is severely outdated at this point and guys need to get over it.

[Boogie!]

also, i wonder how much editing was done on that bautista article... because with the way its written, he actually seems like a really smart guy. not that i was doubting it or anything, but i mean its a really well written article...

[Santoki]

also, i wonder how much editing was done on that bautista article... because with the way its written, he actually seems like a really smart guy. not that i was doubting it or anything, but i mean its a really well written article...

I'm sure there is some editing involved but Bautista is a well educated and intelligent person. His mother was a financial planner and his father was an engineer. He didn't grow up like other poor Dominicans did. He also played two years of college ball in the US and he established a program to help players who come from poor families get a chance at playing ball in the US. You should read his other Player's Tribune article. It goes into a lot of detail about what it takes to become an MLB player coming from somewhere like the Dominican. It actually provides a lot of context for this article.

[Fairview4Life]

Fisk was motioning to the ball. Carter was celebrating.

Bautista stood there as if to say "Look what I just did. I'm so awesome"


I think he comes across as a narcissistic diva in much the same way Vince Carter behaved during most of his career with Toronto


EDIT: This isn't about unwritten rules. He can cartwheel around the bases if he wants. There's just something about the way he conducts himself that turns me off as a fan

Yes, but apparently you are a bad person with dumb opinions.

[wazabifuzz]

bat flip statue in front of the Rogers Center pls !

[Raps in 4]

EDIT: This isn't about unwritten rules. He can cartwheel around the bases if he wants. There's just something about the way he conducts himself that turns me off as a fan

That's exactly why I like him as a fan. He conducts himself like a competive athlete, not a little league softball player.

[Raps in 4]

also, i wonder how much editing was done on that bautista article... because with the way its written, he actually seems like a really smart guy. not that i was doubting it or anything, but i mean its a really well written article...

He's always very articulate when he gives interviews.

[RapsFanInVA]

I prefer baseball players to be robots. In fact, MLB should regulate celebrations. One high five and ass slap per teammate each inning, nothing more. This is the way the game is meant to be played. Also, no more "walking the parrot" for Edwin, it's disrespectful to birds everywhere.

[Indiana Jones]

It's not really a race or ethnic thing, given that if Bryce Harper had flipped his bat like that, the media and everyone else would be all over him just like with Joey. The difference btw Bryce and Joey, and the Fisk's of the baseball world, is that the former are simply cocky guys whom people love to hate, while the latter are those humble guys that everyone can get behind. That's just about it. Jealousy, mostly. It's perfectly normal to dislike and disapprove of cocky A-holes, so long as they play for the other team.

All in all, too much ink (or bytes or whatever) has been spilled on this issue. It was a great moment for Jays and Bautista fans, and it sucked for everyone who doesn't fit into that category. Let them whine, nobody will care in a very, very short time.

[bluerap23]

Baseball needs more excitement and dramatics, not less.

[SDM]

You ever notice how when someone who isn't very good is discussed, folks go into off-field stuff to build the guy up. They'll say "he's classy" or a "consummate teammate and professional". Either these folks are stretching to find positives in a marginal player or classy individuals in sports are worth noting because it's rare. I think it's both and once I learned to accept athletes as flawed human beings like the rest of us and potentially narcissistic sociopaths on account of devoting their lives to being so good at something that affords them immense riches and power, I've enjoyed sports more. The only time Sir Charles has ever been right was with what he said about role models.

[s e n s i]

BAUTISTA WITH A DRIVE! DEEP LEFT FIELD! NO DOUBT ABOUT IT!!!

[Sifu]

There is so much written and said about the bat flip, and to a lot of other people's credit there's a lot out there to support it.

But those that deride the bat flip and talk about the unwritten rules, where are these bozos when a Derek Holland wipes his ass on a Jays towel? To me, that's way more disrespectful and yet that didn't make a dent in the media.

And I'm sure those same bozos laugh about it and call Holland a good ol boy.

[UN-Owen]

You ever notice how when someone who isn't very good is discussed, folks go into off-field stuff to build the guy up. They'll say "he's classy" or a "consummate teammate and professional". Either these folks are stretching to find positives in a marginal player or classy individuals in sports are worth noting because it's rare. I think it's both and once I learned to accept athletes as flawed human beings like the rest of us and potentially narcissistic sociopaths on account of devoting their lives to being so good at something that affords them immense riches and power, I've enjoyed sports more. The only time Sir Charles has ever been right was with what he said about role models.

I hear lots of Hall of Famers referred to as "classy"

Gwynn, Larkin, Ripken, Rivera, Halladay, Stockton, David Robinson, Duncan, Yzerman, Lidstrom, Sakic, Bourque, etc.