It’s officially May and the sun is shining, gloves are popping, and bats are tumbling through the air like errant tires at a NASCAR race. This week, we saw everything from walk-offs to pitchers cracking grand slams, as well as some premium bat drops and flips to accompany them. So sit back, put some coffee on, and enjoy the best bat flips from the first week of May. Let’s get it started.
4. Mauricio Dubón vs. Blake Snell
https://gfycat.com/blondgiganticechidna
5/1/2021 — SF @ SD
389ft, 104.3 mph, 28° launch angle
Mauricio Dubón flexed his power with this thundering home run off of Blake Snell last Saturday. It was a no-doubter off the bat, and Dubón showed his appreciation with a crisp bat drop. He hits this ball to Coronado Island, and almost shakes his head in disbelief as he surveys the damage. Snell you later (groans).
Style: 7.5
Drop: 8
Form: Textbook
3. Jake Bauers vs. Tyler Zuber
https://gfycat.com/thornyrapidangelwingmussel
5/4/2021 — CLE @ KC
424ft, 104.7 mph, 30° launch angle
Jake Bauers turned on and destroyed some 95mph cheese from Tyler Zuber last week, insuring Cleveland’s two-run lead in the process. With a jaunt in his step, he also unloaded a snappy bat flip out of the box, sending it tumbling end-over-end into the grass. It had all the confidence, swagger, and satisfaction of someone who guessed right on a fastball and sent it flying into the stands. Now that’s a real Bauers outage.
Style: 8.5
Rotation: 540°
Contact: Perfect-Perfect
2. Kyle Schwarber vs. Yimi García
https://gfycat.com/heftyangelicalligatorgar
4/30/2021 — MIA @ WSH
454ft, 115.4 mph, 32° launch angle
It’s barely May and Kyle Schwarber has already collected his second walk-off homer of 2021, confirming my belief that April had a season’s worth of excitement crammed into a single month. Schwarber’s second Gatorade shower came at the expense of Yimi García and the Miami Marlins, and was followed up with an exuberant bat toss as Schwarber celebrated with his dugout. García, unfortunately, had the complete opposite reaction as he could do nothing but watch as the game sailed over the fence. Schwarber is on pace for ten more walk-off bombs this season (we love a good small sample size).
Style: 8.5
Rotation: 540°
Schwarber’s hair: Sticky
1. Jurickson Profar vs. Camilo Doval
https://gfycat.com/welldocumentedqualifiedcuttlefish
5/1/2021 — SF @ SD
368ft, 98.1 mph, 31º launch angle
Typically when Padres are featured in this article, it’s the usual suspects that get all the attention. Tatís, Machado, and even Trent Grisham have become regulars for their high-flying bat flips and celebrations, but now they’re being joined by their teammate, Jurickson Profar. Profar gets the top spot this week for this excellent flip after he doubled the Padres’ lead over San Francisco in the late innings against Camilo Doval. It’s not every day you see 99mph diesel on the outside edge pulled for a home run, but Profar does just that, uncorking a moonshot into the right field bleachers. It’s the best flip of the first week of May, and could already be a contender for bat flip of the month.
Style: 9
Rotation: 720°
Sauce: 9
Photo by Dustin Ian D’Andrea/Flickr | Adapted by Doug Carlin (@Bdougals on Twitter)
I’m often more of a mic-drop fan, but Bauers was swagtastic this time.