For the third time in his last 18 games at Petco Park, Fernando Tatis Jr. robbed a home run in right field.
Tatis’ latest display of superhuman athleticism occurred in the first inning of Wednesday’s game vs. the San Francisco Giants, when the Padres right fielder leaped at just the right time to take away Rafael Devers’ home run.
That catch set the tone as San Diego secured a dominant 8-1 win to move one game back of the Los Angeles Dodgers for the NL West lead.
Tatis and his knack for home run robberies
As AJ Cassavell of MLB.com reports, Tatis has been practicing home run robberies for his entire life. It began when he lived in a first-floor apartment in New York when his father, Tatis Sr., played for the Mets.
The apartment had a wall that was a bit taller than Tatis, who grabbed a ball and started practicing.
“I used to throw it as high as I could to hit the wall,” he said, via Cassavell. “And I’d try to make a leaping jump. Obviously, I missed like 25 of them. So then I’ve got to jump over the wall and try to get the ball again. Yeah, it started from there.”
After his latest robbery, Tatis sat on the warning track, stone-faced, for several seconds before revealing he made the catch. All Devers could do was laugh.
“I was just hunting, all the way from the beginning,” Tatis said. “I knew if it was close to the wall, I had a chance. Just happy to make that catch for my starting pitcher.”
While Tatis may have acted like it was no big deal, manager Mike Shildt’s reaction mirrored the feelings of Padres’ fans throughout Petco Park.
“It really is an art form,” he said of Tatis’ ability to rob home runs. “It’s timing as much as anything. And then it’s just the athleticism.”
San Diego wraps up its four-game series vs. the San Francisco Giants on Thursday at 4:10 ET.
