Jose Bautista’s bat flip has made its way to Toronto city hall — twice.

Mayor John Tory stepped up to the plate in his bet with the mayor of Kansas City on Friday, flipping a bat into the pool at Nathan Phillips Square to announce his wager.

He took media by surprise and camera operators had trouble capturing it. So he offered to do it again. Neither time, though, did he quite capture the Bautista glare that was the pinnacle of Game 5 of the American League Division Series.

However, for the second go-around the bat was still in the pool so mayoral staffer Alex Chreston took off his socks and shoes and waded into the water to retrieve it.

As for the wager, Tory offered to send three different types of Ontario craft beers to his counterpart, Kansas City Mayor Sly James, whatever the outcome of the Blue Jays-Royals AL Championship Series.

“Number one, our beer is stronger,” Tory said. “Number two, our pitchers are stronger. And number three, our hitters are stronger and so, Mayor James, game on. Go Jays!

Then he threw the bat.

On one of the takes, he glances over and says, “Oh jeez, did I almost club somebody?”

On Thursday, James wagered some Missouri barbecue on the Royals beating the Jays in their best-of-seven series. James promised to send Tory some ribs and BBQ sauces from three Kansas City restaurants should the Jays win.

“We are going to not lose, so I’m really more interested in what you’re going to do for us,” James says in the video. “But I will warn you in advance: we have our own maple syrup, so something else maybe.”

On Friday morning, Tory accepted his counterpart’s challenge.

“I love BBQ & look forward to getting some from KC @MayorSlyJames,” Tory tweeted.

“I wouldn’t start getting your knives and forks out, however, because we plan to win this thing,” James said in the video, before leading a small crowd in a “Let’s Go, Royals!” chant.

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“We want to hear what you guys are going to put up because we’re going to put up the best barbecue in the entire country. Make it something good, brother!”

Earlier Friday, Tory said he’d be sending a gift to James no matter how the series ends.

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“[T]he mayor said they had their own maple syrup and I wasn’t aware of the burgeoning Kansas maple syrup industry, but I think that even if they have a very excellent maple syrup industry, with what I’m sure is a quality product, it’s not the real thing,” Tory told reporters.

“And so, regardless of the outcome of this series I will be sending him some maple syrup that is real maple syrup – real Canadian maple syrup – on the basis that he should not be denied the opportunity to sample that, especially if it’s being used to drown his sorrows.”

With files from Jillian Kestler-D’Amours and David Rider

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