Bautista says watching bat flip video brings back all the same emotions

Toronto Blue Jays slugger Jose Bautista was speaking at a luncheon recently at the University of Louisville when a video clip of his famous bat flip was replayed for those in attendance.

All the magical feelings from his unforgettable night last October came flooding back.

“It brings back all the same emotions that I felt at that moment,” Bautista told The Canadian Press from Tampa, Fla. “Satisfaction, joy, that good feeling of doing something positive for your team and putting yourself in a good position to win. And then just feeling the crowd behind you and all that energy that was buzzing through the stadium was pretty electric.

“It was amazing. When they replayed it, it brought all those feelings back.”

Bautista’s epic bat toss came after he launched a no-doubt homer in a wild seventh inning of Game 5 of the American League Division Series against the Texas Rangers. The Blue Jays held on to win the decisive game and then lost a six-game AL Championship Series to the Kansas City Royals.

That memorable moment will be immortalized in a Topps baseball card that will come out ahead of the 2016 season.

Bautista will return to Toronto next week to serve as a coach at the NBA all-star celebrity game on Feb. 12 at the Ricoh Coliseum. The NBA all-star game is set for Feb. 14 at Air Canada Centre.

Spring training begins later this month. The Blue Jays’ pitchers and catchers are scheduled to report Feb. 22, four days before the first full squad workout.

The Blue Jays will kick off their 2016 regular season on April 3 at Tampa Bay.

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