There not surprisingly remains considerable animosity on the behalf of Texas Rangers fans toward Toronto Blue Jays slugger Jose Bautista. And before the teams squared off in Game 1 of their ALDS series Thursday, Rangers fans had the opportunity to “punch” Bautista via a cardboard cutout.
Originally appearing on reddit, photos surfaced on social media of fans replacing the face of Rangers second baseman Rougned Odor in a now-famous scene from a game earlier this season.
The cutout of course celebrates — at least from the perspective of Rangers fans — how Odor punched Bautista during a game in May.
The bad blood between the Rangers and Blue Jays — specifically when it comes to Bautista — of course stems from the slugger’s infamous “Bat Flip Seen Around The World” during last year’s MLB postseason. Bautista's demonstrative celebration of course became a craze in its own right.
While Rangers fans got to enjoy the Odor-punching-Bautista cutout ahead of the game, they were no longer laughing after the teams took the field at Globe Life Park, as the Blue Jays walloped the hometown Rangers by a score of 10-1 to take a 1-0 lead in the series.
Making matters ever worse, Bautista smashed a three-run homer in the ninth inning, a 425-foot bomb that put the Blue Jays up 10-0.
It's worth noting that Bautista, arguably wisely, laid down his bat calmly near home plate instead of once again pulling out the bat flip. After the game, Bautista had this to say:
There you have it.
More must-reads: