http://www.thestar.com/sports/2015/10/16/toronto-tattoo-artist-immortalizes-jose-bautista-bat-flip.html

Toronto tattoo artist immortalizes Jose Bautista bat flip

Jose Bautista’s ALDS-winning home run is already burned into Blue Jays fans’ memories – now the moment is burned into somebody’s skin.

Scoot Mason tattooed the image of Bautista tossing his bat on a client’s thigh. He said it took about five-and-a-half hours to complete.

Instagram/scootscootmason


By: Jillian Kestler-D’Amours Staff Reporter, Published on Fri Oct 16 2015

Scoot Mason says he just wanted to be a part of Blue Jays pandemonium.

So the Toronto tattoo artist did what he knows best: he tattooed.

“I was watching the baseball game the other day and it was just amazing. As soon as I seen the picture, I’m like, ‘Somebody needs to tattoo this,’” he told the Star in a telephone interview on Friday morning.

Mason was talking about the now-iconic image of Jose Bautista hitting the game-winning home run — and then flipping his bat — in Game 5 of the ALDS against the Texas Rangers on Wednesday.

After sending out a message to his regular clients asking if anyone wanted to immortalize the moment with a tattoo, a local Jays’ fan got in touch, Mason said.

“I put out a message and a guy gave us a shout. He said that he loved my work . . . so he wanted a tattoo (and) came down,” he said. “He’s a little bit of a Jays’ fan. It’s hard not to be when the city’s like this, you know?”

Mason, who works at Forever Young Ink on Queen St. W. , tattooed the image of Bautista tossing his bat on the client’s thigh. He said it took about five-and-a-half hours to complete on Thursday.

Since he posted a photo of the finished tattoo on Instagram, Mason said he’s received “tons of requests” from other people wanting one. And even Joey Bats himself took notice.