Fernando Gabriel Tatís Medina Sr. (born January 1, 1975) is a Dominican former

professional baseball Professional baseball is organized baseball in which players are selected for their talents and are paid to play for a specific team or club system. It is played in leagues and associated farm teams throughout the world. Modern professional ...

third baseman A third baseman, abbreviated 3B, is the player in baseball or softball whose responsibility is to defend the area nearest to third base — the third of four bases a baserunner must touch in succession to score a run. In the scoring system us ...

and Minor League Baseball (MiLB)

manager Management (or managing) is the administration of an organization, whether it is a business, a nonprofit organization, or a government body. It is the art and science of managing resources of the business. Management includes the activities ...

. Over his 11-year

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...

(MLB) career, Tatís played for the Texas Rangers,

St. Louis Cardinals The St. Louis Cardinals are an American professional baseball team based in St. Louis. The Cardinals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) Central division. Since the 2006 season, the Cardinals ha ...

Montreal Expos The Montreal Expos (french: link=no, Les Expos de Montréal) were a Canadian professional baseball team based in Montreal, Quebec. The Expos were the first Major League Baseball (MLB) franchise located outside the United States. They played in t ...

Baltimore Orioles The Baltimore Orioles are an American professional baseball team based in Baltimore. The Orioles compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. As one of the American League's eight charter ...

, and

New York Mets The New York Mets are an American professional baseball team based in the New York City borough of Queens. The Mets compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) East division. They are one of two major league ...

. He holds the major league record for

runs batted in A run batted in (RBI; plural RBIs ) is a statistic in baseball and softball that credits a batter for making a play that allows a run to be scored (except in certain situations such as when an error is made on the play). For example, if the ba ...

(RBI) in an inning, a feat that he achieved by hitting two grand slams in one inning during a game on April 23, 1999, becoming the only player in MLB history to do so. His son, Fernando Jr., plays for the

San Diego Padres The San Diego Padres are an American professional baseball team based in San Diego. The Padres compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. Founded in 1969, the club has won two NL penn ...

Playing career

At the age of 17, Tatís was signed as an amateur

free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under contract at present but who is a ...

Omar Minaya Omar Teodoro Antonio Minaya y Sánchez (born November 10, 1958) is a Dominican baseball executive. He was the special assistant to the general manager of the New York Mets of Major League Baseball. He previously served as general manager for the ...

and the Texas Rangers on August 25, 1992. Tatís played his first game in

with the Rangers, at

third base A third baseman, abbreviated 3B, is the player in baseball or softball whose responsibility is to defend the area nearest to third base — the third of four bases a baserunner must touch in succession to score a run. In the scoring system us ...

, almost five years later on July 26, 1997, and went on to play 60 games with the Rangers in his rookie season. At the trade deadline on July 31, 1998, the Rangers traded Tatís along with

Darren Oliver Darren Christopher Oliver (born October 6, 1970) is an American former professional baseball pitcher. He is a second generation major league player, as his father Bob Oliver played in the major leagues for nine seasons between 1967 and 1975. E ...

and Mark Little to the

for

Royce Clayton Royce Spencer Clayton (born January 2, 1970) is an American former professional baseball shortstop. He played in Major League Baseball for the San Francisco Giants, St. Louis Cardinals, Texas Rangers, Chicago White Sox, Milwaukee Brewers, Co ...

and

Todd Stottlemyre Todd Vernon Stottlemyre (born May 20, 1965) is an American former professional baseball player. He played for 15 seasons in Major League Baseball as a starting pitcher from to , most notably as a member of the Toronto Blue Jays with whom he won t ...

. Tatís had the best season of his career in 1999 with the St. Louis Cardinals. He hit 34

home run In baseball, a home run (abbreviated HR) is scored when the ball is hit in such a way that the batter is able to circle the bases and reach home plate safely in one play without any errors being committed by the defensive team. A home run i ...

s with 107 RBI and 21 stolen bases, with a .298

batting average Batting average is a statistic in cricket, baseball, and softball that measures the performance of batters. The development of the baseball statistic was influenced by the cricket statistic. Cricket In cricket, a player's batting average is ...

. On April 23, 1999, Tatís made baseball history when he hit two

grand slam Grand Slam most often refers to: * Grand Slam (tennis), one player or pair winning all four major annual tournaments, or the tournaments themselves Grand Slam or Grand slam may also refer to: Games and sports * Grand slam, winning category te ...

s in one inning. He is the only batter in MLB history to accomplish this feat. Tatís hit both of his grand slams against starting pitcher Chan Ho Park of the

Los Angeles Dodgers The Los Angeles Dodgers are an American professional baseball team based in Los Angeles. The Dodgers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. Established in 1883 in the city of Brooklyn ...

. With these two grand slams, Tatís also set a Major League record with eight runs batted in during a single inning. After playing only 96 games for the Cardinals in 2000 because of an injury, Tatís was traded to the

along with Britt Reames for Dustin Hermanson and Steve Kline. Tatís played just 208 games over three seasons with the Expos because of injuries. The

Tampa Bay Devil Rays The Tampa Bay Rays are an American professional baseball team based in St. Petersburg, Florida. The Rays compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. Since its inception, the team's home ve ...

invited Tatís to spring training in 2004, but he did not make the team and was released. Tatís next did not play professional baseball for two seasons and resided in the

Dominican Republic The Dominican Republic ( ; es, República Dominicana, ) is a country located on the island of Hispaniola in the Greater Antilles archipelago of the Caribbean region. It occupies the eastern five-eighths of the island, which it shares with ...

. The

signed Tatís to a minor-league contract on November 25, 2005. He returned to baseball to raise money to build a church. He played most of the season for the

AAA baseball Triple-A (officially Class AAA) has been the highest level of play in Minor League Baseball in the United States since 1946. Currently, two leagues operate at the Triple-A level, the International League (IL) and the Pacific Coast League (PCL). ...

Ottawa Lynx The Ottawa Lynx were a Minor League Baseball team that competed in the Triple-A International League (IL) from 1993 to 2007. The team's home field was Lynx Stadium in Ottawa, Ontario. Over 15 seasons, the team was an affiliate of the Montreal ...

, eventually playing in 28 games for the Orioles after being called up on July 21, 2006. In 2007, Tatís was invited to spring training with the

. After being assigned to minor-league baseball camp, Tatís was granted his request to be released from his contract on March 14. Just nine days later, he signed a minor-league contract with the

, and spent the 2007 season with its AAA affiliate, the New Orleans Zephyrs. On May 11, 2008, Tatís was called up from the Zephyrs to replace

Ángel Pagán Ángel Manuel Pagán (born July 2, 1981) is a Puerto Rican former professional baseball outfielder. He played in Major League Baseball for the Chicago Cubs, New York Mets, and San Francisco Giants. Pagán's original contract in Major League Base ...

. Tatís had started playing

outfield The outfield, in cricket, baseball and softball is the area of the field of play further from the batsman or batter than the infield. In association football, the outfield players are positioned outside the goal area. In cricket, baseball a ...

in the minor leagues to become a more versatile player. On May 28, Tatís hit a walk-off double against Justin Miller to defeat the

Florida Marlins The Miami Marlins are an American professional baseball team based in Miami. The Marlins compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) East division. The club's home ballpark is LoanDepot Park. The fran ...

in the bottom of the 12th inning. This was Tatís's first career walk-off hit. Tatís played most of his time with the Mets in left field and right field because of injuries to usual starters Moisés Alou and

Ryan Church Ryan Matthew Church (born October 14, 1978) is a former Major League Baseball outfielder. He played for the Montreal Expos / Washington Nationals, New York Mets, Atlanta Braves, Pittsburgh Pirates, and Arizona Diamondbacks. Career Minors Drafte ...

. On September 16, 2008, Tatís separated his shoulder diving for a fly ball in a game against the

Washington Nationals The Washington Nationals are an American professional baseball team based in Washington, D.C.. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) East division. From 2005 to 2007, the team played in RFK Stadiu ...

. The Mets team physician diagnosed the injury as a Grade III separation, a complete separation of the joint from the socket. Due to this, Tatís missed the rest of the 2008 regular season. Despite missing the end of the season, on October 23, 2008, Tatís received the Sporting News Comeback Player of the Year Award for the National League. Fernando Tatis 2009 (cropped)

Tatís was named to the

Dominican Republic national baseball team The Dominican Republic national baseball team (Spanish: ''Selección de béisbol de República Dominicana'') is the national baseball team of the Dominican Republic. The team has won the Baseball World Cup in 1948 and World Baseball Classic in 201 ...

for the

2009 World Baseball Classic The 2009 World Baseball Classic (WBC) was an international baseball competition. It began on 5 9 and finished 5 26. Unlike in 2006, when the round-robin format of the first two rounds led to some eliminations being decided by run-difference tie ...

as a replacement for

Alex Rodriguez Alexander Emmanuel Rodriguez (born July 27, 1975), nicknamed "A-Rod", is an American former professional baseball shortstop and third baseman, businessman and philanthropist. Rodriguez played 22 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the ...

, who was injured. Tatís played intermittently for the Mets in 2009 and 2010. His last Major League game was on July 4, 2010. He was also the latest New York Met to wear

uniform number In team sports, the number, often referred to as the uniform number, squad number, jersey number, shirt number, sweater number, or similar (with such naming differences varying by sport and region) is the number worn on a player's uniform, to ...

17, which was taken out of circulation as a mark of respect for

Keith Hernandez Keith Hernandez (born October 20, 1953) is an American former Major League Baseball first baseman who played the majority of his career with the St. Louis Cardinals and New York Mets. Hernandez was a five-time All-Star who shared the 1979 NL MVP ...

, who wore it for the Mets from 1983 to 1989. On October 5, 2014, Tatís announced his retirement as a player. For his career, he batted .265 with 113 home runs and 448 RBI.

Post-playing career

In January 2018, the

Boston Red Sox The Boston Red Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Boston. The Red Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. Founded in as one of the American League's eigh ...

announced that Tatís had joined their minor league organization as manager of one of their two rookie-level

Dominican Summer League Red Sox The Dominican Summer League Red Sox, often called the DSL Red Sox, are a Minor League Baseball affiliate of the Boston Red Sox of Major League Baseball, playing in the foreign Dominican Summer League. The team, classed as a Rookie League franchise, ...

teams. He returned for the 2019 season, but was no longer with the organization entering the 2020 season.

Personal life

Tatís's father, Fernando Antonio Tatís, was also a professional baseball player. He was an infielder in the Houston Astros system from 1969 through 1978, reaching as high as

Class AAA Triple-A (officially Class AAA) has been the highest level of play in Minor League Baseball in the United States since 1946. Currently, two leagues operate at the Triple-A level, the International League (IL) and the Pacific Coast League (PCL). ...

before retiring and moving on to

coaching Coaching is a form of development in which an experienced person, called a ''coach'', supports a learner or client in achieving a specific personal or professional goal by providing training and guidance. The learner is sometimes called a ''coa ...

and scouting Houston's minor leaguers. The elder Tatís disappeared from Fernando's life when he was four years old. The two were not reunited until 1997 when the younger Tatís was a rookie with the Texas Rangers. Rangers scout

, whom Tatís described as a

father figure A father figure is usually an older man, normally one with power, authority, or strength, with whom one can identify on a deeply psychology, psychological level and who generates emotions generally felt towards one's father. Despite the literal te ...

, related the story of Tatís's search for his father to ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...

'' national baseball writer

Murray Chass Murray Chass (born October 12, 1938, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania) is an American baseball blogger. He previously wrote for '' The New York Times'' and before that the Associated Press on baseball and sports legal and labor relations. In 2003 the ...

. Chass wrote about the search and that article led to the reunion of Tatís and his father. His mother is Yudelca Tatís. Tatís' older son Fernando Tatís Jr. is a

shortstop Shortstop, abbreviated SS, is the baseball or softball fielding position between second and third base, which is considered to be among the most demanding defensive positions. Historically the position was assigned to defensive specialists wh ...

and

outfielder An outfielder is a person playing in one of the three defensive positions in baseball or softball, farthest from the batter. These defenders are the left fielder, the center fielder, and the right fielder. As an outfielder, their duty is to c ...

for the

. His younger son Elijah is a middle infielder playing in the

Chicago White Sox The Chicago White Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The White Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. The team is owned by Jerry Reinsdorf, and ...

farm system .

References

External links

<-
Fernando Tatis Sr.
at SABR (Baseball BioProject)--> {{DEFAULTSORT:Tatis, Fernando 1975 births Living people Baltimore Orioles players Brevard County Manatees players Caribbean Series managers Charleston RiverDogs players Charlotte Rangers players Dominican Republic expatriate baseball players in Canada Dominican Republic expatriate baseball players in Mexico Dominican Republic expatriate baseball players in the United States Estrellas Orientales players Gulf Coast Rangers players Leones del Escogido players Major League Baseball infielders Major League Baseball left fielders Major League Baseball players from the Dominican Republic Major League Baseball right fielders Mexican League baseball third basemen Minor league baseball managers Montreal Expos players New Orleans Zephyrs players New York Mets players Oklahoma City 89ers players Ottawa Lynx players Sportspeople from San Pedro de Macorís St. Louis Cardinals players Texas Rangers players Tulsa Drillers players Vaqueros Laguna players World Baseball Classic players of the Dominican Republic 2009 World Baseball Classic players

Playing career

Post-playing career

Personal life

See also

References

Further reading

External links