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Our friends at Betway interviewed former Toronto Blue Jay and bat flip expert, Jose Bautista at the following link. What follows is our favorite moments and our comments on them.
On the season so far…
Bautista seemed excited that outside of the top teams, there seems to be more parity across the league than there has been in recent years. Some of his favorite things about this season are the magical year the Yankees were having up to that time (August 8th). Unfortunately for them, since then they have looked like a whole different team. Could it be the curse of Joey Gallo? He also comments on how nice it is seeing Yadier Molina and Pujols back on the Cardinals. Update, Pujols now sits at 693 career homeruns and I personally hope he reaches 700 before the end of the season! He has 39 games in which to do it including tonight, August 23rd.
The Most enjoyable players and teams to watch this season…
Bautista listed the Orioles, who would have been in contention at the time of his interview if the Yankees were not having such an exceptional season up to that point, but both teams have faltered a bit since then. He was most disappointed in the Giants, Angels and Red Sox who were not doing as well as expected. He is most excited to see how fine of a rookie season Julio Rodriguez, whom he played with at the Olympics last year, is having – he seems to really like the kid both on and off the field. Additionally, concerning Juan Soto who was recently traded from the Washington Nationals to the San Diego Padres. He thinks Soto will be one of the top 20 players of all time if he can stay healthy.
On the Blue Jays this season…
Currently, they are in a Wild Card Slot, tied with the Rays with the Orioles 2.5 games back and the Red Sox 6 games back. He talks about the firing of manager Charlie Montoyo and how the clubhouse was experienced enough to handle that mid-season and how such a move could swing either way (positive or negatively) for a team. He admitted that he doesn’t understand why the move was necessary, but backs both the organization and Montoyo going forward (and thinks Montoyo will manage again in the majors). Now that the Yankees have shown they are human and not a bunch of robots, the Blue Jays might have more of a chance.
The bat flip…
Although he’s been asked about it thousands of times, he admits it wasn’t planned nor does he even remember it! It was just an emotional reaction that must have been a knee jerk reaction in the moment. He does think that there are times that allow a bat flip and times that do not. It all depends on the situation at hand and does also admit to needing to be sensitive to old school players who may be offended by it. Personally, I like his thoughtful approach to the discussion; it isn’t selfish or all about the current player’s rights, etc. There is a time and a place for it and players should be allowed to show some emotion … they are not robots you know!
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