Flip your lids with the 10 best bat flips of 2016
With the crowd roaring and adrenaline spiking, what else can a player do after hitting a dinger than hurl their bat high into the sky? Nothing, that's what.
Today, let's get happy with the 10 best flips from 2016.
Asdrúbal Cabrera flips a table
When the Mets' Cabrera defeated the rival Phillies with an 11th-inning home run, he didn't flip a bat so much as completely overturn a table. You could easily imagine him yelling "And the flowers are still standing!" after this one.
Bryce Harper is very strong
When the Nationals' Harper hits home runs, they tend to go very far. When he flips his bats, they also tend to go very far. Baseball bats are not supposed to look as light as a feather, and yet, when he pulled this off against the Phillies ...
James Shields unveils every pitcher's dream
Pitchers rarely get the chance to bat flip (unless they're Zack Greinke , that is.) That means they have to take advantage of their chance when it comes along. Show bunt then knock one out in a Spring Training drill? You better believe that's worth a flip.
The Matt Holliday Prat Flip
Sometimes a bat flip is inadvertant, which happened to the Cardinals' Matt Holliday when he drew a walk in April against the Padres. And just like when you forget how to walk down the stairs midflight, Holliday apparently forgot how to toss his bat back toward the dugout.
The Magic Trick
Major League Baseball's bat flips are great, but the real mastery of the art is on display in Korea. This flip, pulled off by Samsung's Kim Sang-su, continues to befuddle researchers, fans and (probably) David Blaine himself. One moment the bat's there. Another -- poof.
Alex Rodriguez's Timeout
Remember when Zack Morris would take a timeout in "Saved by the Bell?" Alex Rodriguez did his best attempt at it when the Yankees slugger hit a dinger against the Rays after coming off the DL in May. Then, he remembered, "Oh, right. That's a TV show and this is real life. And in real life we don't get timeouts."
Odúbel Herrera is a fancy gentleman
"Why hello, sir," Herrera seemed to say with this fancy flick of the wrist against the Nationals. "Why, I do believe that I have a double. Hate to run, but I've got a date at second base. Toodle-oo."
The long stare goodnight
So far we've listed a myriad of bat flips in a number of fliptastic genres. What the Miami Hurricanes' Edgar Michelangeli did was a less a bat flip and more of a one-man show as he hit a dinger, held his bat aloft like the Statue of Liberty's torch and then threw it to the moon.
The HBPBF
That's right, it's the hit-by-pitch bat flip, a move originated by the Blue Jays' Russell Martinagainst the Padres. We look forward to his next invention: The HBPBFBLT. (Hit by pitch bat flip bacon lettuce and tomato.)
Yoenis Céspedes threw his bat to another state
The only thing Yoenis Cespedes could have done to improve on this toss against the Marlins? Rip off his yellow sleeve and toss that into the air, too: