Bradford William Davis: Please don't ruin Fernando Tatis Jr.
It’s bad enough that Monday night’s Padres game, a 14-4 rout, will be remembered more for reviving another debate over American baseball’s unwritten rules instead of Fernando Tatis Jr.’s latest statement declaring his superstardom: a grand slam which came on a 3-0 count in the eighth inning. But that’s not the worst part.
Neither is that the next batter, Manny Machado, had a ball thrown behind him by Ian Gibaut. Nor is it the challenge of believing Chris Woodward, who said Gibaut’s pitch “slipped out of his hand” and past Machado’s head, after the Rangers manager made it clear he doesn’t like the unwritten rules broken. The league was unconvinced and suspended both pitcher and manager for breaking a written rule by retaliating.
No, the worst part is that Tatis, one of the brightest stars in the game, might actually feign belief in the nonsense.
“I’ve been in this game since I was a kid,” said Tatis, whose father, Fernando Tatis Sr., hit two grand slams in one inning while playing with the Cardinals — a game St. Louis was comfortably in control of. “I know a lot of unwritten rules. I was kind of lost on this.
