Bautista bat-flip ball sells for $28,252

The home-run ball that prompted Jose Bautista’s notorious bat flip in 2015 has sold at auction for more than $28,000. According to the Lelands Auction House website Saturday, there were 17 bids. The winning one went for $28,252. The home run at Toronto’s Rogers Centre came during the seventh inning of Game 5 of the American League Division Series between the Blue Jays and Texas Rangers. Bautista put Toronto ahead 6-3 and theatrically flipped his bat high in the air, a gesture that did not sit well with Texas and left long-lasting tension. The Blue Jays won the game to rally from a 2-0 deficit in the best-of-five series.