Under normal circumstances, hitting a 400-foot Grand slam would be a cause for celebration. Yet, that wasn’t the case for Padres shortstop Fernando Tatis on Monday night.
With a 3-0 count in the 8th inning and the bases loaded, and a healthy 10-3 lead, the Padres signaled for Tatis to not swing on the next pitch. However, Tatis never got that message. Instead, he swung on the pitch and deposited it 400-feet away for a Grand Slam.
THIS KID IS UNREAL@tatis_jr with a grand slam for the @Padres!! pic.twitter.com/DuL1yk9TRF
— FOX Sports: MLB (@MLBONFOX) August 18, 2020
From the video, it’s clear that Rangers manager Chris Woodward was not at all amused by Tatis’ adding to the already large lead. In his postgame comments, Tatis apologized for what happened.
“Those experiences, you got to learn from it,” Tatis Jr. said. “Probably next time, I take a pitch now that I learned from it.”
THE face of the @MLB, Fernando Tatís Jr. reflects on his performance in the @Padres 14-4 win over the #Rangers!@tatis_jr | #FriarFaithful pic.twitter.com/2BhdmUIc6l
— FOX Sports San Diego (@FOXSportsSD) August 18, 2020
“I didn’t like it, personally,” Rangers manager Chris Woodward said. “But, like I said, the norms are being challenged on a daily basis. So just because I don’t like it doesn’t mean it’s not right. I don’t think we liked it as a group.”
Despite Woodward’s claim of not taking it personally, the Rangers did throw behind San Diego’s Manny Machado in the next at-bat.
The Rangers just threw behind a Padres hitter because the previous hitter (Fernando Tatis Jr.) hit a granny on 3-0.
Here's a thought: how about you learn how to not give up 14 runs and not give up 7 RBI to a kid who can barely legally buy a beer. pic.twitter.com/y68zDQW8dS
— Danny Vietti (@DannyVietti) August 18, 2020
At least Machado didn’t seem to take it personally.
Follow Dylan Gwinn on Twitter @themightygwinn
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