Bat Flips or Floppy Bats?

Throughout the last 10 years or so, the “Let the Kids Play” movement has ushered in an era of baseball that accepts players launching their bats into the third row on the first base line after sending a baseball sending the ball into orbit. There was a time in the game that even watching the ball go over the wall doomed your teammate on deck to hear a whistle blow by their ear flap. The change in the league’s mentality has led to some iconic moments in baseball really starting with Bautista pimping a homer so hard in the 2015 ALDS, the animosity from Texas poured over into a brawl at second base the next season. The bat flips breed rivalries. However, bat flips seem to be growing overused and flaccid, leaving a void in the dark side of the fans’ minds that want their teams’ players to really push the buttons of their foes on the field, until yesterday. Mark Vientos hit an RBI double in the Mets’ win over Houston yesterday, and once reaching second base, he made a gesture to his teammates that may have changed the game of baseball forever. With his arms, he signaled to his teammates in a way that resembled “dropping the hammer” on the Astros. Is it a sign to the world that the Mets are ready to let it all hang out on the rest of the league this season even with their high expectations? Baseball as a league should to take this page from the playbook to reach the next generation of fans for the game. Sources say Bonnie Blue was spotted the red eye to Houston after the clip of Vientos took X by storm. This is just one example of young media influencers  taking an interest in our country’s pastime, which can only grow the game. We’ll follow this story closely to monitor if this fad shrivels in the cold winds of April, or fills the hole that the overused bat flips just haven’t quite satisfied since the early years.