Setting the Stage
As the American League Game 2's get going, let's catch up on MLB's four Division Series.
Well, the MLB playoffs are rolling along now! Let’s get into it, series-by-series… but first, a quick reminder that we’re running a little deal here at JoeBlogs.
Padres vs. Dodgers (Series tied, 1-1)
OK, let’s total up what San Diego’s Fernando Tatis Jr. has done so far in the postseason. He’s played in four games. He’s 9 for 17 with eight runs, 2 doubles, three homers and five RBIs. He also made one of the best leaping catches you’ll ever see. He’s 25 years old.
I bring this up because, after the 2021 season—not so long ago—Fernando Tatis Jr. looked like the very future of baseball. At age 22, he was the youngest player to lead the National League in home runs since Eddie Mathews back in 1953—and he did that despite missing 30 games with injuries. He also stole 25 bases. His future seemed utterly limitless.
It went really bad, really fast, after that. There was the motorcycle accident. Then, apparently, there was ANOTHER motorcycle accident. Then was the positive test for performance-enhancing drugs. Adidas cut ties with him. The Padres moved him to the outfield, where he was great defensively… but his offense fell off badly. The Padres disappointed, and, fair or unfair, Tatis seemed at the heart of that disappointment. This year, he was just starting to heat up when he suffered something called a “stress reaction to his right femur bone,” which, you know, that doesn’t sound too good. It kept him out for six weeks.
And so, it was easy to forget that Fernando Tatis Jr. is one of the most remarkable baseball talents we’ve ever seen. And he’s still only 25 years old.
He has reminded us. When he’s right, there is no defense.