The long climb back for Fernando Tatis Jr., once the next ‘face of baseball’

On May 20 in Atlanta, in the evening game of a doubleheader, Fernando Tatis Jr. rushed. 80 feet across the outfield grass in Atlanta and crashed into the Truist Park fence to take a hit away from good friend Ronald Acuña, Jr. knocked him to the ground, leaving significant scratches.

“That’s mainly the love for the game,” Tatis told reporters afterward about the catch. “I knew it would hurt.”

Tatis, 25, has always played the game loudly and uninhibited. Cross-border reckless. He is known for his leaping and diving catches, for dancing in the outfield, jumping around the bases and stealing home. In 2021, Tatis became the youngest player ever to be featured on the cover of ‘MLB the Show’. His jersey sales were among the top three in the league. Young fans tried to emulate his swing and swagger, copying his epic bat flips and drooling over his shoes.

Tatis’ ever-changing cleats This season has been flashy and fun, but being a star without a shoe sponsorship deal is also a reminder of what else he’s known for now. Two years ago, just months after he signed a 14-year contract extension worth $340 million, setting a record for a player yet to reach salary arbitration, the league found the steroid Clostebol in his system. Tatis, who was in rehab during the failed drug test, was suspended 80 games. He initially claimed the failed drug test was the result of treatment for ringworm, but later apologized for his actions and took responsibility.

Once seen as the future face of baseball, Tatis was immediately dropped by Adidas. Gatorade and Dairy Queen ads featuring him were removed and he was given a new, unflattering label: steroid user.

Tatis, who also had multiple surgeries, won a Platinum Gold Glove last season, his first in the outfield. But he struggled at the plate, hitting .257/.322/.449 with a 112 OPS+. Tatis was booed along the way. Nationally, baseball found other young stars to promote in the 564 days Tatis spent between big league games.

This season, Tatis, the son of former big leaguer Fernando Tatis, still isn’t hitting like he once did: .244/.328/.412 through Wednesday. But his enthusiasm for the game has returned and he feels more like himself.

“I actually like being under the radar,” Tatis Jr. said in front of his locker this spring. Then he realizes how surprising that sounds, throws his head back and cackles. “But we cannot deny ourselves either.”

On the field, Tatis is responsible for some of the game’s most emphatic bat flips, often accompanied by yelling, jumping or chest-thumping. In addition, you have to make an effort to hear him. Behind the animated plays, Tatis is soft-spoken — “sweet,” as first-year Padres manager Mike Shildt puts it.

“I have always been quieter than my brothers and sisters,” says Tatis from San Pedro de Macorís, Dominican Republic. “I like to listen and laugh.”

Tatis’ first steps into the big leagues came as a young child, following his father into the clubhouse in Montreal, carrying a small bat and swinging on the field. In New York with the Mets, Sr. Jr. to the batting cages and encouraged him to talk to the other big leaguers, players like Jose Reyes, Carlos Delgado and Angel Pagan. Tatis Sr. finished his career playing a few seasons in winter ball, and by then Tatis Jr., already showing signs of being a star, was old enough to pay close attention and hone his skills.

In 2015, he signed with the White Sox at the age of 16. They later traded him to the Padres, and in 2019, Manny Machado and then-Padres veteran Eric Hosmer lobbied general manager AJ Preller to draft Tatis from the minors, saying that if the Padres were serious about winning, Tatis had to be there . the team. Preller listened and Tatis’ career took off quickly.

Tatis finished third in the NL Rookie of the Year voting that year, despite playing in only 84 games after a season-ending back injury. The following season, he finished fourth in the NL MVP race and was third in 2022. He was a two-time Silver Slugger, a 2021 All-Star, on the cover of ‘MLB The Show,’ and had his own colorway of the Ultra Boost running shoe from Adidas.

“It was a lot,” Tatis said, looking back on his first years in the league. “It was much more than baseball. I don’t want to say that I went astray, but sometimes I got a little distracted.”

Then it all came crashing down. When news broke that Tatis had tested positive for a performance-enhancing drug, he was at Double-A San Antonio on a rehabilitation assignment for a broken wrist resulting from a motorcycle accident in the Dominican Republic during the offseason. The injury occurred during baseball’s lockout, when teams were prohibited from talking to players. Tatis showed up to spring training with her wrist still sore, and a subsequent MRI confirmed the fracture. He was about to return when the suspension was imposed.

The reaction to the suspension was swift and visceral. Tatis’ bobblehead night was canceled and his presence was almost immediately removed from team videos on the JumboTron. A giant mural of Tatis on the outside of Petco Park was removed. The man that baseball couldn’t get enough of was nowhere to be found.

“From a reputational point of view it is not an easy situation. People are going to make judgments,” Preller said. “He has had to deal with that in recent years.”

When Tatis reported to spring training last year, he was suspended, but he was able to train with the team. He went to work with Padres outfield coach David Macias, who helped Tatis make the transition from shortstop to right field, a move accelerated by hopes that Tatis, who has had multiple shoulder dislocations and several other injuries, would survive less action and fewer collisions could continue to work. in his short career, healthier.

When he returned on April 20, 2023, Tatis – now in right field – sat in the front row due to the fans’ hostility. Teammate Nelson Cruz, who was suspended 50 games in 2013 for his involvement in the Biogenesis scandal, became a voice of support, as did Machado. Padres pitcher Joe Musgrove, one of the few veterans Tatis first discussed his suspension with, said teammates quickly moved on. But, he told Tatis, ultimately he had to forgive himself.

“You can’t let it hang over your head: ‘I’m known as this cheater and this guy who used steroids and I have to behave a certain way,’” Musgrove said. “It’s over. Now move on so you can be the player you were before steroids. He was incredible before all that happened. I continue to believe he will be a great player afterward.”

In 141 games in 2023, Tatis was a great defender — second among outfielders in Defensive Runs Saved (+27) and Ultimate Zone Rating (+12.3) — but he was more of a pedestrian.

Last season, Tatis returned to the Dominican Republic, and for the first time since playing in the big league, he played winter ball and returned to his former team, Estrellas Orientales in Lidom. His coach? His father. Although he only played a few winter ball games, Tatis put on an offensive show reminiscent of his best days.

“I needed that. I had to play again,” Tatis said.

Machado said, “It’s given him a chip on his shoulder heading into (this season), which I don’t think is a bad thing.”

Tatis entered spring training with more confidence with teammates and in meetings, free from the uncertainty of how his presence would be perceived.

“I told him, ‘We’re going to win if you’re more open-minded,’” Machado said. ‘We need you, people look up to you. If you use your voice, you are going to lead us in the right direction.” And he’s been doing that since the offseason. He’s definitely matured a lot.”

When asked what he has learned over the past two years, Tatis said, “Things are never as bad as they seem.”

The Padres are asking Tatis to cover more ground in his second season as an outfielder, a way to better utilize his athleticism and also help rookie center fielder Jackson Merrill. Early on, Tatis has experimented with playing closer to centerfield and deeper.

“He’s going to be able to change the game, rob home runs and make really athletic plays where he jumps over the wall or jumps off it acrobatically,” Macias said. “There just aren’t many players like him in the game.”

Tatis’ offense, he and his teammates believe, will eventually return to its peak.

“The field is like his playground,” said Macias, who was impressed that Tatis did live replays during batting practice before each game last year, an unusual practice in the major leagues. “He’s always trying to create something and he’s never satisfied. He wants to master everything and that is why you continue to see a better Tati.”

If 2023 was the Redemption Tour, Tatis feels like 2024 could be about baseball again. Even after his suspension, Tatis is still one of the most marketable players in baseball. He’s charismatic, Latino in a sport where nearly half the players were born outside the U.S., speaks perfect English and plays with a showman’s flair. He’s already added new partnerships this year, appearing in an opening day ad for Corona and closing a deal with Champs, while discussing a handful of other potential companies.

Despite all the ups and downs of Tatis’ career, he is still only 25.

“How old is he?” Musgrove said.

Cronenworth, 30, laughed when Tatis’ age was mentioned, then said, “I feel like he should be closer to my age.”

Tatis says he would like to be the face of baseball again, or at least be part of that conversation, but only because that would mean playing at an All-Star level. And along the way, he believes fans will come to realize there’s more to him beneath the surface.

“There’s still a lot people don’t know about me,” he said this spring before grabbing his glove and heading to the field. “It will come true with time.”

(Top image: John Bradford / The Athletics; Photos: Rob Tringali / Getty Images)