Fernando Tatis Jr.’s Padres teammates back him in his return
FERNANDO TATIS JR.’S highly anticipated return to baseball will begin when he leads off Thursday night’s game from Chase Field in Phoenix. Boos will inevitably reign down; the hostility that promised to surround him will instantly be felt. But the greatest challenge of his most important season might begin shortly thereafter, in the bottom half of the first inning, when he bypasses his original position of shortstop and ventures out to his new spot in right field. Confronting the backlash of a steroid-related scandal can be exceedingly difficult for any player. Nelson Cruz thinks it’s toughest on the outfielders.
“You’re out there alone,” he said. “You hear everything.”
In January 2013, a decade before he would join Tatis on this year’s San Diego Padres, Cruz was among those linked to Biogenesis, the Florida-based anti-aging clinic that became notorious for distributing performance-enhancing drugs. A 50-game suspension followed in August. And the time between was spent occupying right field for the Texas Rangers. Every road game offered its own unique blend of boos and jeers, the most prominent of which were heard during the quiet moments between balls in play. Now Tatis will confront the same obstacle.
His only path, Cruz believes, is forward.
“He’s got to go out there and do his job,” Cruz said. “That’s the only way he can shut up the noise.”
It has been more than 18 months since Tatis played in a real game with real stakes. The 2022 season began with an injury to his wrist and ended with a positive test for an anabolic steroid. His return, therefore, is clouded with uncertainty. There are questions surrounding how his body will respond to two surgeries, how his offense will be impacted by the down time, how his skills will translate to a new position, how his mind will process the negative energy that follows him. One aspect that shouldn’t be doubted, Padres manager Bob Melvin believes, is whether his teammates will accept him.
The news of
