Morgan Wallen honours Blue Jays royalty, but accidentally clips Jose Bautista's wife at Toronto show
Jose Bautista joined superstar for walkout during 'I'm The Problem' concert at Rogers Centre, but wife got hit with bat-flip
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Toronto baseball fans cheering the site of six-time All Star Jose Bautista was a regular occurrence at Rogers Centre for a decade. But on Friday night, he got to hear the roar of the crowd once again.
Bautista appeared on a giant video screen during Wallen’s walk out during night two of the country superstar’s concert in Toronto. Making their way to the stage, Bautista, clad in a baby blue Jays jersey, strutted alongside the two-time CMA winner swinging a baseball bat.
“The King is back in his castle,” the official Jays X account wrote, sharing footage of their walkout.
As they got closer to the stage, Bautista handed Wallen his bat with the singer stopping for a swing before chucking it, replicating the slugger’s famous bat-flip that occurred when he hit an epic three-run homer against the Texas Rangers during Game 5 of the 2015 American League Division Series.
But Wallen’s celebratory toss ended up accidentally hitting Bautista’s wife, Neisha. As she filmed her own clip of their entrance, she captured the moment Wallen’s bat-flip hit her on Instagram.
“When Morgan Wallen bat flips your husband’s bat and hits you,” she captioned her video with a cry-laughing face emoji.
One of country music’s biggest stars, Wallen’s signature walkout that he starts every show with usually features him making his way to the stage joined by a well-known local celebrity.
At a recent concert in Massachusetts he was joined by former New England Patriots tight end Rob Gronkowski, while at a gig in Houston Toronto rapper Drake helped usher him onstage.
Later, during his encore, Wallen returned for a three-song set that included Last Night, Just In Case and The Way I Talk wearing a Roy Halladay jersey.
Jays pitcher Kevin Gausman, who won for the first time in a month as Toronto beat the Yankees 7-1 on Friday night in New York, saluted Wallen for honouring the late Halladay on social media.
“Mad respect to @MorganWallen for wearing a Roy Halladay jersey for his concert in Rogers Centre!” Gausman tweeted. “Real recognize real!”
The Jays shared photos of Wallen wearing Halladay’s jersey to Facebook along with Gausman’s tweet captioning the pic with a saluting face emoji.
Jay’s Care also announced that Wallen’s foundation had donated 1,500 gloves to help youth play baseball as part of the team’s RBI program next season.
During Thursday’s show, Wallen didn’t have a special guest join him during his walkout, but he did wear a Tracy McGrady Raptors jersey during his encore with his bandmates all wearing custom Jays Night Mode kits.
Meanwhile, Bautista’s appearance comes as he debuts his Dominican coffee brand Bella Aldea in Toronto during the Film Festival.
The retired slugger, who notched 288 home runs as a Jay, told Postmedia in an interview this week that he was happy to be back in the city and see his former team in first place.
“The vibe of the city and the fans and what’s happening at Rogers Centre right now with the team in first place … those were enjoyable days for me,” the 2025 Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame inductee said likening the 2015 edition of the Blue Jays that put an end to a playoff drought that gone back to 1993 to this year’s team. “I was getting up everyday just excited to compete and give it my best.”
Bautista said he has been watching the team from afar at his home in Tampa.
“I consider myself a fan now … I’m watching on TV from my home in Florida every night. The guys are doing great and playing an exciting brand of baseball. Their hitting is amazing; their starting pitching is also very exciting. So, I’m hoping they can continue doing what they’ve been doing all season into the playoffs and make a deep run, hopefully to the World Series.”
Morgan Wallen’s I’m The Problem Tour wraps next weekend with two shows at Edmonton’s Commonwealth Stadium.
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