DENVER, CO – AUGUST 28: Fernando Tatis Jr. #42 of the San Diego Padres reacts after being hit by the ball on the pickoff attempt after sliding safely into third base with a sixth inning steal against the Colorado Rockies at Coors Field on August 28, 2020 in Denver, Colorado. All players are wearing #42 in honor of Jackie Robinson Day. The day honoring Jackie Robinson, traditionally held on April 15, was rescheduled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. (Photo by Dustin Bradford/Getty Images)
Fernando Tatis, Jr. is the king of new school, and he’s breaking all the stupid rules
Cursing on live television has made the 2020 MLB season all the more entertaining. As much as we all miss fans in the stands — and the ability to attend games ourselves — the emphasis on mic’d up players and player personalities is long overdue in professional baseball. Thankfully, that has coincided with the emergence of the San Diego Padres and Tatis, who is arguably the NL MVP through this point in the season.
On Saturday’s FOX broadcast, Tatis, Jr. was speaking with the FOX announcers when a line drive was hit opposite his direction. With a direct view of the play, Tatis appeared worried for his teammates and exclaimed an NSFW term the FCC won’t be happy with.
Despite the delay, FOX wasn’t able to catch Tatis, Jr.’s expletive in time
Nope, that was heard by a nationwide audience, but who in their right mind would actually be upset?
Tatis did express initial regret for his comment, just as he did when Texas Rangers manager Chris Woodward called him out for swinging 3-0 to hit a grand slam and extend the Padres lead back in mid-August.
Either way, Tatis is undoubtedly good for baseball. MLB is lacking any outward personalities, and most average sports fans (especially younger ones) couldn’t pick Mike Trout out of a lineup. Trout, of course, is the best player of his generation by a long shot, but not a shining example personality-wise. There’s nothing wrong with that, but MLB hasn’t done a good job marketing him regardless.
Tatis is the opposite, and MLB should embrace that.