The 2020 season may have been abbreviated in length, but when it came to ground-shaking bat flips it was up there as one of the rowdiest baseball seasons yet. We saw unwritten rules shattered, pitchers’ souls crushed, and many, many baseballs obliterated. If you followed the Best Bat Flips series throughout the year, you got a front-row seat to some of the nastiest celebrations in the league week in and week out. Now, it’s your turn to vote on the most thrilling bat tosses, flips, drops, and cartwheels in 2020, to determine the single best batting celebration of the season.
Starting today and ending on Friday, you will be able to cast your vote each day for the best bat flip of the year. Here are the rules:
- You will be voting on the best batting celebration, which includes the bat flip/drop as well as anything the hitter does running down the first base line (e.g. snapping a selfie, yelling at the dugouts, etc.)
- You can only vote on a matchup once, so make sure you pick the one you absolutely want.
- Voting will continue until 12:00 a.m. EST the following morning.
Let’s take a look at the bracket:
by Doug Carlin (@Bdougals on Twitter)
Are you ready? Let’s do this.
For those of you that followed this article throughout the year, you’re undoubtedly already familiar with Trevor Story and his penchant for big home runs and bigger bat flips. This one from August came at the expense of San Diego’s Cal Quantrill, who gave up a no-doubt shot to left-center. Story just let the bat fly from his hands, knowing that ball had no shot of staying in the park. He matches up with his NL West rival, Will Smith, who bashed a key home run off of ‘the other’ Will Smith to put the Dodgers up with a key home run in Game 5 of the NLCS against Atlanta. After winning the mirror-match, Smith launched his bat in the air, forever establishing himself as the Freshest of Princes.
https://gfycat.com/fantasticsnarlingguillemot-colorado-rockies-trevor-story
VS.
https://gfycat.com/elementaryadventurousaustralianfreshwatercrocodile
Willson Contreras vs. Carlos Correa
Willson Contreras sent his bat to the moon after destroying a 99mph heater from Dylan Cease. He got a good four rotations on his toss, more than any other bat flip we saw in 2020. It’s a strong contender as one of the filthiest bat tosses in this bracket, but will face some stiff competition in the form of Carlos Correa. Correa’s walk-off home run in Game 5 of the ALCS looked to be a pivotal moment in the series, and although the Astros went on to fall short of a 3-1 comeback, this bat flip was one of the highlights of the playoffs. Embracing the villain role, Correa banged this 1-1 fastball from Nick Anderson out beyond the center field wall, and the Astros lived to play another day. For the cherry on top, Correa sent his bat flying and scowled his way around the diamond.
https://gfycat.com/narrowhighlevelconey
VS.
https://gfycat.com/agonizingscarcegardensnake
Sometimes, the best bat flips aren’t flips at all. Enter Max Muncy and his bat drop celebration in Game 5 of the Fall Classic, when he sent his lumber clattering to the ground after booming a deep ball out to right-center. He matches up with the dynamic Tim Anderson, a veteran of the bat flip game and one of the most exciting young faces in baseball today. Anderson crushed this low-and-in curveball from Matthew Boyd and shook off his bat like an out-of-style coat, before strutting his way down to first base. Effortlessly cool.
https://gfycat.com/scientificsleepyamericanmarten
VS.
https://gfycat.com/mintysharpgraywolf-chicago-white-sox-tim-anderson
Ji-Man Choi vs. Pedro Severino
Ji-Man Choi welcomed Josh James to the electric factory in Game 5 of the ALCS with an absolute bomb out to right field to tie the game in the 8th. Choi then took some time to admire his handiwork, before unleashing a vicious bat flip as he walked out of the box. How can you not love him? Choi faces Baltimore’s Pedro Severino in the first round, who clocked a three-run homer off of future Hall of Famer Max Scherzer back in August. Severino knew it was a moot point off of the bat, and gave us one of the sleeker bat flips of the year with his cool, calm, and collected twirl here as he watched the ball carry into the seats. It’s also hard to look better rounding the bases than in those gorgeous Orioles home jerseys.
https://gfycat.com/constantcomplexamericanwarmblood
VS.
https://gfycat.com/mistyagitatedcub
Jordan Luplow vs. Fernando Tatís Jr.
Jordan Luplow became an unlikely source of bat violence this year with this ferocious bat toss against Gio González to walk off the White Sox in the final few weeks of the regular season. Just take a look at how absolutely disgusted he looks at being left a cookie of a fastball in a tie game. Put some respect on his name. Luplow has his work cut out for him though, as he faces off against one of the most exciting players in the league in Fernando Tatís Jr. Tatís brought the Padres back from the brink of elimination in the Wild Card Series with this clutch three-run home run against Giovanny Gallegos, energizing his team and getting them back into the series with a single swing. Just a monster of a hitter, and an unbelievable showman too. Let the kids flip.
https://gfycat.com/joyfulbogusbooby
VS.
https://gfycat.com/unequaledspitefulgrackle
Cody Bellinger vs. Brian Goodwin
In one of the most exciting moments of the postseason, Cody Bellinger crushed a 2-2 fastball from Chris Martin to complete the Dodgers’ 3-1 comeback against Atlanta in the NLCS. Martin tried to sneak the high cheese past Bellinger on the eighth pitch of the at-bat, but was met with a thunderous home run deep into the Texas night (dome?). Then Bellinger had to stunt, swaggering back and forth as he watched the ball fly out of sight, with one of the most arrogant struts ever seen on a baseball diamond. He will be met by Brian Goodwin in the first round, who rattled off one of the most underrated flips of the year with a shot off of Oakland’s Mike Fiers. Check out the ease with which Goodwin sends his lumber tumbling into the grass, end over end. It ended up being one final gift for the Angels before they shipped him off to the Cincinnati Reds. Grace and brutality, all rolled into one.
https://gfycat.com/glumassureddodo
VS.
https://gfycat.com/snoopyfaintauklet-los-angeles-angels-brian-goodwin
Marcell Ozuna vs. Randy Arozarena
Marcell Ozuna set a new standard for home run celebrations with this picture-perfect moment in the Wild Card Series against Cincinnati. After unloading on a Raisel Iglesias fastball, Ozuna discarded his bat and went to capture the moment with his teammates via miming a selfie. If a picture is worth a thousand words, a bat flip has to be worth at least twice that right? Ozuna will face off against October’s biggest breakout performer in Randy Arozarena, who made a name for himself by setting postseason records in hits, home runs, and total bases in his quest to post the most dominant playoff run of all time. Arozarena had no shortage of big home runs to choose from here, but his blast in Game 7 of the ALCS may have been the most profound as it sent the Rays to their first World Series appearance since 2008.
https://gfycat.com/freeunlinedhaddock
VS.
https://gfycat.com/shamelessembellishedasiaticgreaterfreshwaterclam
Fernando Tatís Jr. (2) vs. Ronald Acuña Jr.
Here we go. The heavyweight bout. In the red corner, we once again have Fernando Tatís Jr., who gave us one of the most memorable postseason moments in Padres history with this massive bat flip (his second of the game!) off of Daniel Ponce de Leon to force a Game 3 in the Wild Card Series against the Cardinals. He unleashes one of the coldest bat flips of 2020 with this sky-high toss, before staring down his own teammates in the San Diego dugout. After what felt like an eternity, he finally broke into a trot down the line, having seemingly raised the Padres offense from the dead in the short series. From here, winning Game 3 felt like an inevitability. He squares up against the equally electrifying Ronald Acuña Jr., who uncorked a devastating home run against the Phillies’ Deolis Guerra before changing up the tried-and-true formula with a rare reverse bat flip. With a flick of his wrist, Acuña sent his bat spiraling behind him, to the adoration of both his teammates in the Atlanta dugout as well as all of the cardboard fans in the crowd. Both of these players represent the future of baseball in the 2020s, and are two of the most exhilarating and dynamic players in the game. No matter who advances, we all win when these guys are mashing (except for Chris Woodward, maybe).
https://gfycat.com/complicatedbruisedcowbird
VS.
https://gfycat.com/thisedibleindochinesetiger-atlanta-braves-ronald-acuna
With that, the field is set. Be sure to sound off in the comments and on Twitter with some of your favorite picks, and don’t forget to check in again tomorrow to see who advanced to the Electric Eight. See you soon.
(Photo by John Adams/Icon Sportswire) | Adapted by Doug Carlin (@Bdougals on Twitter)
Story vs. Smith… this is tough! If all are this tough, I don’t know how I’m going to get through this article. Story’s is such a no-doubter that he’s almost disgusted with his own bat, but the flip itself isn’t that great. Smith on the other hand has to wait a long time before the flip but the flip is beautiful. Tough choice right off the bat.
Willson Contreras beats Carlos Correa easily IMO. That bat flip went to the damn MOON!
I guess I’m just not a huge fan of the bat drops! Neither Muncy or Anderson’s did anything for me, so I’ll go Muncy’s due to the bigger stage.
Ji-Man is the easy winner here, that facial expression says it all before the bat flip.
My god that Luplow bat flip is disgusting. That’s a contender for me for best bat flip of the year! Tough to go up against Tatis Jr though, and that Tatis bat flip is also incredible, but Luplow’s is just better.
Goodwin wins the actual flip of the bat, but the swagger and the dislocated shoulder give Bellinger the edge for me.
Ozuna vs. Arozarena is kind of weak for me. I’m not giving Ozuna any credit for the selfie, too corny for me. Arozarena’s excitement gives him the edge.
Acuna’s bat flip is technically sound, perhaps one of the better flips in the tournament, but it’s too nonchalant. Too much of a throw-away. Tatis has so much flair here, I fully expect we’ll see Luplow vs. Tatis part 2 in the semi-finals.
Tried to go for a wide range of styles here, from drops to flips and throws. It’s interesting because some are going to prefer the bat flip itself while others might go for the theatrics and swagger surrounding it. I myself really love the bat drops like we saw from Muncy and Grandal this year, and think Ozuna’s miming was hilarious.