Bautista Speaks! Old Schoolers Take Heed!

Wow.  I thought the bat flip was bad when it happened.  But I love how he writes about it.

When he "flipped" I thought he was trying to act like this Batista.

My goodness that was a great article!  I did not have a problem when he did it and I have more respect for him now.  

That was a great read.  Absolutely love this quote:

 "I was so locked in that all I could see was the pitcher. Everything else was out of focus. It was so loud that it was quiet."

Great article. I had no idea 11.5 million Canadians watched that game -- that is about one-third of the entire population! 

I have to say that it's rare when an argument can turn around my thinking. This article, however, brought me around. When he flipped that bat, I will admit that my first reaction was disgust and a general feeling that he had disrespected the game I love and the competition that it embodies. It's time to realize, though, that the culture of the game has changed as has the demographics of those who play it. It's a young man's game - always has been and who am I to judge the current generation based on my own standards of what is and what isn't "disrespectful." Now, Kent Murphy's bat flips might be taking it a little too far, though.

I must be new school.  to think that throwing at a batter is "justified" but a bat flip is "disrespectful" just does not jive.  Also, have you seen some of the pitchers gestures when they send someone down?  I think it all has to do with intent.  Last year we were playing a "vocal" team.  Our catcher would normally flip the ball a little bit on a 3rd out KO.  As the other team became more "vocal", you could see our catcher start flipping the ball a little higher (had a good pitcher going).  The first casual flip went unnoticed,  The fourth flip - about 10 feet high while backpedaling towards our dugout, clearly communicated the message.  A quick bat flip while watching the ball clear the fence - fine.  A flip while staring at the pitcher - maybe not so cool.

Great article, thanks for sharing that!

I WAS WRONG!!  

I liked the article a lot and it changed my mind about the bat flip.  I have to admit though that I was skeptical about how well written it was.  Hate to admit this but not knowing anything about the guy except that he's a great hitter, I just assumed he COULDN'T be that articulate.  Then I found this, which may not surprise anyone else, but it surprised me.

http://www.thepostgame.com/fea...ed-his-way-greatness

Impressive.

Agreed.  A really impressive guy.  gotta send this one to my son.

Yes, I think this is great.  Wow.

Good find - great article