Bautista's bat-flip HR ball up for auction, expected to sell for over $8K
Get ready to flip out, baseball memorabilia collectors.
The ball from one of the most iconic playoff moments in recent baseball history - former Toronto Blue Jays star Jose Bautista's "bat flip" home run in Game 5 of the 2015 American League Division Series - has been put up for auction at Lelands.com, a sports memorabilia auction house. Lelands bought the baseball directly from the fan who caught it.
The month-long auction began on Friday morning with a $3,500 opening price. Though no bids had been placed as of 2 p.m. ET Friday, Lelands expects the baseball could fetch at least $8,000, according to Laura Armstrong of the Toronto Star.
Per the Lelands listing, the auction's winner will also receive a signed affidavit of authenticity and a photo of the fan celebrating with the ball at Rogers Centre.
Bautista crushed the famous three-run homer - followed by his even more famous bat flip - off Texas Rangers reliever Sam Dyson on Oct. 14, 2015 to complete one of the wildest innings in postseason history, pushing the Blue Jays to their first playoff series win in 22 years.
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