After winning the World Series in 1992 and 1993, the Toronto Blue Jays never even made the postseason until 2015.
In 2015 and 2016, the team returned to the big party with consecutive American League Championship Series appearances.
They lost both, but those Jays helped restore hope for a dormant franchise.
Jose Bautista, who is now announcing his retirement as a Blue Jay, was a big part of those rosters.
He performed at an All-Star level both seasons and had some unforgettable postseason heroics.
One of them was his legendary bat flip, perhaps the precursor of the ones we see today.
It had flair, it had style, it had swagger, and it came after a huge home run.
“In honor of Jose Bautista retiring with the Blue Jays, we throw it back to his iconic bat flip,” FOX Sports: MLB tweeted.
In honor of Jose Bautista retiring with the Blue Jays, we throw it back to his iconic bat flip 🙌 pic.twitter.com/sHk1XNyC2e
— FOX Sports: MLB (@MLBONFOX) August 11, 2023
It was in an elimination game in the Division Series against the Texas Rangers: Game 5.
The Rangers had won the first two, and Toronto answered with two road victories.
With the game tied at three runs apiece in the bottom of the seventh, Bautista walloped a big three-run home run off Sam Dyson that sealed the Rangers’ fate.
The crowd went absolutely crazy.
That home run in 2015 preceded the 2016 brawl with Rougned Odor, who was with the Rangers in 2015 when they were eliminated in that Division Series.
There was bad blood between the two teams for years, but in a weird way, that’s what made the game exciting in the minds of fans.
Bautista was behind all that.
He was an amazing player for the Blue Jays and owns the most thrilling moment of their recent postseason history.
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