Disclaimer: I had this idea for an article before ESPN’s top MLB insider, Jeff Passan, wrote a profile about Tatis. Here’s the link to that article if you want to check it out. https://www.espn.com/espn/feature/story/_/id/29510713/fernando-tatis-jr-bringing-joy-back-baseball
Only a handful of athletes come to mind when you talk about their swagger and talent. Some include Ken Griffey Jr, Javier Baez and Juan Soto. Fernando Tatis Jr is the newest member of that club, and rightfully so. His ability to have so much fun on the field while staying focused is impeccable. Don’t forget that his father also played in the Majors and he was famous for being the first to hit two grand slams in the same inning on April 23, 1999. Today, let’s take a look at what makes his son so much fun to watch, from the stats to the highlights. So, without further ado, let’s get this show on the road.
He’s had a sizzling start to his already accomplished career. In his first season with the Friars, he had a .317 average with 22 home runs and 53 RBI’s. Additionally, he had a on-base percentage of .379 and a slugging percentage of .590. If you combined those two numbers, that gives him a .969 OPS. Finally, he has a secret weapon and that is that he can run on the base paths. Case in point, he had 16 stolen bases last year. Not many rookies can say that they had those type of stats, except if your Pete Alonso or Aaron Judge. Unfortunately, he was only able to play 84 games because of some back problems. Just imagine if he had played a full 162 games, could he have taken over as the frontrunner for the Rookie of the Year or would Alonso still get that crown? We will never know. However, what we do know is just how amazing he’s been so far this season. He has a .316 average with 8 home runs (which leads the NL) and 18 RBI’s. Some contact hitters can get those similar stats in a full 162, but these numbers were achieved in just 19 games. Just to give you some perspective on just how good that is, in Ken Griffey Jr’s MVP-winning season in 1997, his first 19 games had a stat line of .361/9/25. That’s pretty comparable in terms of homers and RBI’s, but Griffey’s average is far and away better than Tatis’. Another season to look at is Mike Trout’s 2019 season in which he won his 3rd MVP of his career. In his first 19 games, he had a .333 average with 6 homers and 14 RBI’s. That’s mind-boggling! How could someone, in their 2nd season in the pros, go step for step with two of the greatest to ever do it? Just imagine what he could be like with a few more years under his belt. Would he take over Trout’s crown for being the face of baseball?
Another thing that make him so much fun to watch is just watching him. Against the Dodgers this season, he hits this mammoth home run and says “get out of my way” to his bat and just absolutely chucks it. Along with that, he stares into his own dugout and his body language is screaming to his teammates, “You see me! If this doesn’t prove to you just how good I am, then you aren’t on my level!” When he hits those home runs, the outfielders don’t move a single muscle to try and rob it because they know it’s gone. When he gets back into the dugout, he decides to live his best life and starts to dance in the dugout. Who does that in baseball? Other players in the league should take a page out of Tatis’ book in order for this game to grow. Oh, and by the way, he’s just as good at defense. He has great range and can get to any ball, whether it’s a blooper that spins and tails away from him and he still gets it or it’s a ground ball that looks impossible for him to get…and he still gets it. He also has the arm strength of a Major League pitcher and always fires the baseball over to 1st on every ground ball that goes to him. Finally, as Jeff Passan said, he’s as “fast like a Funny Car”. To be honest with you, I had zero idea what a Funny Car was. So, I looked it up and it’s the cars that are used in drag races. Honestly, he could’ve said a Lamborghini, Bentley, McLaren, Porsche, Aston Martin, Insert Fast Care Here. But, he chose a “Funny Car”. Interesting. But this article isn’t a Jeff Passan article review, we’re talking about Fernando Tatis Jr. To give you an example about how good his base running really is, against the Pirates last season, Tatis made the gutsiest play of that season. Let’s turn things over to Passan. “His then-teammate Hunter Renfroe hit a lazy fly ball about 165 feet, two steps past the cut of the grass. Pittsburgh second baseman Kevin Newman caught the ball. As Tatis dashed home, Newman hesitated, figuring he wouldn’t dare. What he failed to realize is that Tatis habitually dares. He launched himself toward home plate from 10 feet away, snaked his left arm just out of reach of catcher Elias Diaz and swiped the plate. Umpire Mike Winters called Tatis out. A replay review showed that he was safe.” If a player has the ability to do that and succeed, then you have to realize, this guy is going to be special for a long time. He’s not just good on the field, he even gets praise off of the field from his teammates.
For example, Eric Hosmer said this about Tatis. “I have a batting cage in my house,” says Eric Hosmer, Tatis’ teammate with the Padres. “A couple younger kids came to hit with my brother there in the offseason, and one of the kids is wearing a headband. I just commented, ‘What a cool headband.’ And he says, ‘Yeah, I wear it because of Fernando Tatis Jr.’ I mean, you’re talking about a young kid from Miami, Florida, that’s following a guy on the San Diego Padres and every single one of his moves. “He’s 21 years old. And there’s no question, he’s the face of this franchise. And I think he’s gonna be the face of this game very, very soon.” And that’s not all. His new teammate, pitcher Garrett Richards, praised him as well. “I’ve seen good players,” Richards said Tuesday night after beating the Dodgers 6-2. “He’s definitely a good player. I think he is just touching (the tip of) the iceberg. As he gets older and, God willing he stays healthy, he’s as good a talent as I’ve ever seen. I’m pumped he’s on our team.”
Today, we jumped into just how good Tatis Jr is, from his historic numbers and his flashy play on the field to his teammates complimenting him off of the field. And as Jeff Passan so eloquently stated, “The scion of a dynasty, the favorite son of a nation, the fulcrum of the Padres, the next face of baseball is eyeing his teammates. They already know what everyone else is about to learn: This is only the beginning.” However, there’s another player who might just be contending with him as the next great prodigy in baseball. We’ll talk about him on Saturday. See you everyone.