BARRIE, Ont. — A miniature Jose Bautista says he's been practising his special Blue Jays voodoo for months.
Nine-year-old Oscar Wood — affectionately known by Jays fans, and now even his own father, as Mini Bautista — has become a sensation after he was filmed swinging a phantom bat while donning his painted Bautista-esque beard at the precise moment the real Blue Jay launched a game-changing homer.
The video has gone viral.
Oscar says he's been swinging his invisible bat in the stands whenever Bautista comes to the plate since travelling to New York for a crucial late-season series against the Yankees in September.
Oscar's father, Benn Wood, says his boy took a little off his swing earlier in the game — and the Blue Jays' right fielder hit a double.
Then in the seventh inning, Oscar felt good and really laid into his ghost swing from the nosebleed seats where he and his family, from Barrie, Ont., was sitting — and Bautista delivered with the historic home run.
Wood says he failed as a father earlier when the family noticed Josh Donaldson riding into the stadium on a scooter before the game started — a moment he forgot to capture on camera.
But he redeemed himself by capturing Oscar's special powers on camera for the world to see.