Toronto Blue Jays

Ball from Bautista's bat flip sells at auction for $28,000

Published Feb. 2, 2019 4:47 p.m. ET

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 Rogers Centre came during the seventh inning of Game 5 of the American League Division Series between the Toronto 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. They lost to the eventual World Series champion Kansas City Royals in the AL Championship Series.

Bautista is a free agent after leaving Toronto in 2017 and playing for Atlanta, the New York Mets and Philadelphia in 2018.