Hello again and welcome back to another edition of the Best Bat Flips of the Week! Once again, we have a host of wild and exciting bat flips and drops for you to enjoy, as well as a final poll at the end to decide your favorites! And remember, these rankings are 100% flawless as well as final, so be sure to sound off in the comments below or on Twitter if you think there’s something I missed or if you have conflicting opinions about the results (which, I reiterate, are binding and impeccable). Now then, that’s more than enough chatter from me, let’s get to the good stuff.
The Best Bat Flips of Week Seven!
5. J.D. Martinez vs. Rafael Dolis
https://gfycat.com/handmadeearnestislandcanary
5/20/2021 —BOS @ TOR
402ft, 104.4 mph, 26° LA
J.D. Martinez continued to swing a hot bat Thursday evening, as he teed off on Rafael Dolis in a key moment to swing the momentum of the game in Boston’s favor. Martinez, no stranger to home run balls (this particular one was #250 for his career), put a resounding exclamation mark on the play with a fluid, yet pointed bat toss, before taking a ride in… a laundry cart(?) up the length of the Red Sox dugout. Hey, whatever works right? Besides, few things make a home run cooler than preprepared props (say that five times fast).
Style: 6.5
Rotation: 180°
Clutch: 9
4. Manuel Margot vs. Marcus Stroman
https://gfycat.com/adoredseveralarmadillo
5/16/2021 — NYM @ TBR
427ft, 105.4 mph, 21° LA
Manuel Margot got all of this 2-1 fastball from Marcus Stroman, who threw the ball pretty much in the ideal zone for a hitter with the count in their favor. It was a mistake pitch grooved right down Main Street, and Margot made him pay as he gave it a long, long ride. He then briefly grabbed the bat between his hands before sending it spiraling away in his wake.
Style: 7
Rotation: 360°
Smile: Gleaming
3. Yasmani Grandal vs. Bailey Ober
https://gfycat.com/willingbluedarwinsfox
5/18/2021 — CWS @ MIN
371ft, 97.5 mph, 33° LA
Yasmani Grandal is one of, if not the best bat dropper in the game. He’s almost machinelike in his ability to consistently deliver teeth-rattling bat drops and has even perfected the art from both sides of the plate as well. His home run Tuesday was no different: he crushed a not-terrible curveball low-and-in from Minnesota’s Bailer Ober, and the dropped a thundering celebration as his lumber met the dirt. A textbook (and nasty) bat drop, every single time.
Style: 8
Speed: 0.5 sec.
Stank: 9
2. Gregory Polanco vs. Jack Flaherty
https://gfycat.com/unrealisticmaleabalone
5/19/2021 — PIT @ STL
395ft, 105.9 mph, 33° LA
While Grandal may consistently rattle off some of the best bat drops in baseball, he was eclipsed at the art this week by Pittsburgh’s Gregory Polanco. Polanco, 29, turned and burned the challenge fastball from Cardinals ace Jack Flaherty, depositing the pitch a cool 395 feet away in the right field bleachers. He knew he’d crushed it right off of the bat, which he then dropped like a hot iron at his feet. Thanks for playing.
Style: 8.5
Speed: 1.1 sec.
Sass: 9.5
1. Ronald Acuña Jr. vs. Jacob Barnes
https://gfycat.com/classicelegantiaerismetalmark
5/19/2021 — NYM @ ATL
Ronald Acuña Jr. put his arm in the rim for this iconic walk-off to end the night in Atlanta last Wednesday. After clobbering a cutter away that caught too much of the plate, Acuña immediately flung his bat above his head and into the air. That’s when he motioned to his teammates in a manner reminiscent of basketball legend Vince Carter’s celebration from the 2000 NBA Dunk Contest:
https://t.co/2oatghtKVY pic.twitter.com/pbmzQ1D2Om
— MLB (@MLB) May 20, 2021
“It’s over,” Acuña says, beating on his chest and emphatically framing the Atlanta script on the front of his uniform. And so it was, with Atlanta taking home the victory in their fight for NL East supremacy. Intentional homage or not, this was an overwhelmingly cold-blooded way to end the ballgame, and the clearcut Best Bat Flip of the Week.
Style: 9
Height: 77 in.
Veins: Frozen over
That wraps it up for the Best Bat Flips of the Week! Now it’s your turn to vote on your favorite from this week’s featured celebrations. Remember to make your pick known here in the comments below or on Twitter, and to check in again next week for another fresh batch of crispy bat flips. See you then!
Photo by Dustin Ian D’Andrea/Flickr | Adapted by Doug Carlin (@Bdougals on Twitter)