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Jose Bautista enjoying bat flips not being 'so taboo' anymore

Tom Szczerbowski / Getty Images Sport / Getty

Once the standard-bearer for bat flips, Jose Bautista is certainly enjoying the current brand of Major League Baseball.

"The game has changed in a lot of ways, but one of the best ways is how celebrations are not so taboo and people are allowed to enjoy them," he told Brittany Ghiroli of The Athletic

The 40-year-old executed one of the most iconic bat flips in the sport's history after hitting a go-ahead home run during the seventh inning in Game 5 of the 2015 ALDS while with the Toronto Blue Jays. The homer pushed the Blue Jays to a series win over the Texas Rangers.

At the time, Bautista's boisterous celebration was considered excessive. It led to a benches-clearing incident against Texas the following season that crescendoed with Rougned Odor and Bautista brawling at second base.

Bat flips are now increasingly becoming the norm, with young stars like San Diego Padres shortstop Fernando Tatis Jr. leading the way.

"I hate to talk about bat flips like some important thing you spend time working on," Bautista continued. "Sometimes the moment just takes you there, that's how it happened for me. It was raw emotion and that's how it played out.

"With these young players, I enjoy watching them play, more than anything (they do after that). But would I rather they celebrate than golf clap? Yeah."

A six-time All-Star and three-time Silver Slugger Award winner, Bautista hasn't appeared in an MLB game since 2018 when he played for the Atlanta Braves, New York Mets, and Philadelphia Phillies. The prodigious slugger led MLB in home runs in 2010 and 2011 while finishing among the top four in AL MVP voting both seasons.

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