SPORTS

Bautista's bat-flip ball sells at auction for more than $28,000

The Canadian Press Published Saturday, February 2, 2019 1:06PM EST

Toronto Blue Jays' Jose Bautista flips his bat after hitting a three-run home run against the Texas Rangers during the seventh inning of game 5 American League Division Series baseball action in Toronto on Wednesday, Oct. 14, 2015. he baseball that outfielder Jose Bautista hit in the seventh inning of the Toronto Blue Jays wild win over the Texas Rangers in the 2015 American League Division Series is up for sale. (THE CANADIAN PRESS/Frank Gunn)

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Jose Bautista's bat-flip ball has sold at auction for more than $28,000.

Lelands Auction House's website showed Saturday morning that the ball -- which was hit into the stands at Rogers Centre during Game 5 of the 2015 American League Division Series between the Toronto Blue Jays and Texas Rangers -- had sold for $28,252.80.

Open bidding closed at 10 p.m. EST on Friday. Anyone who had bid on the ball before that deadline was then entitled to re-bid in a 30-minute window.

There were 17 total bids. The reserve bid, set on Jan. 4, was $3,500.

Bautista hit the seventh-inning blast to put Toronto ahead 6-3 after the Rangers had taken a 3-2 lead in the top half of the frame. The homer became entrenched in Blue Jays lore when it was punctuated by his notorious bat flip.

The Blue Jays won the game to rally from a 2-0 deficit in the best-of-five series. They then lost to the eventual World Series champion Kansas City Royals in the AL Championship Series.