Jose Batista (42), who had a fist fight after performing a taboo ‘bat flip’ in the Major League Baseball (MLB), has officially retired.
For his retirement ceremony on the 12th (Korean time), Batista signed a one-day contract with his home team, the Toronto Blue Jays.
Batista is scheduled to say goodbye to home fans ahead of the 2023 MLB Chicago Cubs home game to be held at the Rogers Center in Toronto, Ontario, Canada on the 13th.
Batista was an outfielder who led Toronto’s golden era in the 2010s, posting a career batting average of 0.247, 344 homers, and 975 RBIs in 15 seasons from 2004 to 2018.
He made a name for himself as a hard hitter, hitting 54 home runs in one season with Toronto in 2010.
Batista is more famous for his ‘bat flip’ than his performance.
On October 15, 2015, he hit the final 3-run home run in the bottom of the 7th inning against the Texas Rangers in Game 5 of the American League Division Series, 3-3.
The scene remained one of the most dramatic bat flip celebrations in MLB history, but was also criticized for not respecting the opposing team.
Remembering this scene, Texas got its revenge on Batista the following year.
Batista slid wildly to second base on offense in the eighth inning of an away game against Texas on May 16, 2016, when Texas infielder Lougned O’Door landed a hard punch to Batista’s face.
Odore, who had not been known before, drew attention from sports fans around the world with his sharp punches reminiscent of a boxer.메이저사이트
Batista played in Toronto until 2017, and
after being released from the Philadelphia Phillies, the last team he belonged to in 2018, he continued his career in his home country, the Dominican Republic, and participated in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics and appeared in the bronze medal match with Korea. .
“Everyone knows I’m retired, but I wanted to make it official,” Batista said through local media such as ESPN.
Meanwhile, Odor, who punched Batista hard, was released last month after playing 59 games for the San Diego Padres this season. (yunhap news)