Fernando Tatis Jr. had the last laugh, then all the way around the bases.
In his first game against the Yankees, the Bleacher Creatures repeatedly yelled “steroids!” to Tatis. steroid! He responded with a two-run upper-deck moonshot, taunting them shortly after San Diego’s 5–1 win at the stadium.
Tatis, who has been suspended for 80 games because of performance-enhancing drugs, put in a great performance Friday in front of a sold-out crowd of 46,724.
“It’s loud, this is New York, you can hear everything,” said Tatis. “But I just gave the fans a good time. I have to learn how to accept that and how to give them good feedback.”
his best comeback?
“That home run,” he said.
And it was amazing.
With San Diego holding a 2–0 lead in the sixth, Austin Nola, batting just .137, walked Tatis to the plate. Then the 24-year-old Padres star slammed the next pitch he saw from reliever Ron Marinacio into the second deck in the left field.
It came in as an 82 mph changeup and flew off at over 113 mph.
Tatis observed his explosive carry, demonstratively flipping the bat into the Padres dugout, trotting around the bases and savoring all the 439-foot home runs.
“It felt great,” he said. “I’ve been trying to get something like that since I started playing. But again, I was hitting the ball hard. That’s the key for me. is one of.”
Tatis missed the entire season after rehabbing a broken wrist after testing positive for banned anabolic steroids. Tatis claimed that she had “accidentally” taken a drug containing clostebol.
He’s been jeered at in several cities, dancing to the jeers in Chicago and leading the jeers at one point on Friday.
“I grew up in this game and I’ve seen it all,” said Tatis, whose father played for 11 seasons. “I know how the fans will react. I know how to interact with them and I have to fully accept that whatever is there is part of the game. He’s one of the biggest fans in the game.”
After hitting his eighth home run of the year on Friday, Tatis returned to right field in the back of the inning with a Cheshire Cat grin.
He walked toward the Bleacher Creatures with outstretched arms, pantomiming his hands, shrugging his shoulders and repeating the question. The question was obvious, asking fans where their jeers are now.
“He knows what’s in store for him and he embraces it,” Padres manager Bob Melvin said. “So no matter where it is, he knows what he’s up against and you do your best to enjoy it a little bit. There’s a pretty good interaction between the fans and him.” had.”
