#10 – Jose Bautista
A quick note: full disclosure, I had no idea that anyone hated Jose Bautista prior to this season.
But that changed when Rougned Odor punched Bautista in the jaw following a hard slide into second base, sending Bautista’s sunglasses flying and sparking a controversy over whether the reaction was warranted.
The slide, of course, was in retaliation for a Matt Bush pitch that intentionally hit Jose Bautista, which itself was in retaliation for Bautista’s epic bat flip in last year’s playoff series.
If you break the number one rule of the Internet and read the comments section on any article pertaining to the Odor-Bautista fight, you’ll see a plethora of fans who believe Bautista got what was coming to him. In the 2015 ALDS, he launched a towering three-run home run off of Texas reliever Sam Dyson that won a crazy, emotional game for the Toronto Blue Jays – and he had the audacity to let his excitement show with the greatest bat flip of all time:
Sure, it might be seen as disrespectful towards Dyson – but then again, if Dyson makes his pitch there, Bautista would have been forced to head back to the dugout. Regardless, the Bat Flip Heard ‘Round the World is one of many similar incidents in which Bautista has let his emotions show on the field, and it’s resulted in a lot of animosity toward the All-Star slugger.
Next: The Overpaid Superstar