Tatis brings skills, swagger to Padres
Flair, easy smile rivaled only by talent
SAN DIEGO — “El Niño” is bringing a welcome wallop to San Diego.
Soon, it could be to all of baseball.
Padres shortstop Fernando Tatis Jr. continues to shine as one of the majors’ bright young stars, building on his electrifying first season when he finished third in the National League Rookie of the Year voting despite playing in only 84 games due to injuries.
This summer he’s stronger, smoother on defense and is throwing down dance moves in celebrating big moments, showing exuberance in a game that often is way too serious.
If the 21-year-old isn’t known around the majors yet, he should be soon. He stands out because of his flair, easy smile, the blond dreadlocks flowing from under his cap and a uniform dirtied by his hardcharging play.
If he can stay healthy, Tatis is a big reason the long-downtrodden Padres believe they’re built to compete in this pandemic-shortened season. Whether it’s for this season or his career, the son of a former major league infielder has lofty goals in leading a franchise that hasn’t been to the playoffs since 2006 or had a winning season since 2010.
“We’re aiming for everything,” Tatis said just before the 60game season started. “Why not?
Let’s go win a World Series.”
On Monday, Tatis was named the NL Player of the Week for the first time after hitting six home runs and posting a 1.261 OPS in six games.
Going into Thursday’s games, he was tied with reigning American League MVP Mike Trout of the Los Angeles Angels with eight homers, one behind New York Yankees slugger Aaron Judge. Tatis was tied for the MLB lead with five stolen bases.
Tatis reached base in each of the first 18 games, and 19 straight dating to his last game of 2019, and had a nine-game hitting streak until going 0-for-4 with no walks in Wednesday’s loss at the Los Angeles Dodgers.