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WATCH: Fernando Tatis Jr. Bonds Over Hitting Session with Father As The Padres Slugger Prepares For Next Season

Published 11/21/2023, 8:55 AM EST

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In a beautiful Twitter video that surfaced today, San Diego Padres star shortstop Fernando Tatis Jr. was seen bonding with his father while playing ball at an indoor practice ground. Tatis’ father, Fernando Sr., is famous in the MLB for his unconventional moves and consecutive slams. He seems to have passed it on to his son as well.

The father-son team recently shared a monumental celebration over a significant moment that Tatis Sr. marked 24 years ago. And now, with the practice video, they have garnered significant attention from the MLB. That brings a question to mind: is Tatis Sr. also involved in evolving his son’s form beyond the diamond?

Tatis family mastering pro-level hitting skills in practice

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In a Twitter video posted by MLB insider Héctor Gómez, the Tatis were seen practicing hitting like the pros they are. As Fernando Tatis Jr. took a powerful hit, his father, who had been setting the ball for him, came forward and made a slight change to his posture. Jr. tried it once, tried it twice, and on the third swing with the corrected posture, he sent the ball flying way higher above the nets than they had before.

Fernando has always been transparent with his father’s support for his dreams. The practice sessions back at home seemingly helped him develop a more consistent form on the ground. In the words of Pittsburgh Pirates’ Jason Kendall, “Last year you could throw the ball away from him and he wasn’t getting out to that pitch.” He went on, saying, “But now he’s covering more of the plate, and he’s more patient.” It’s only natural to learn the best from the man who set a grand slam record that nobody has dared to break to date.

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Fernando Tatis Jr. on his father’s unbreakable legacy

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24 years ago, in a fateful game in April, Fernando Tatis Sr., a St. Louis Cardinals 3B, hit two grand slams in the same inning off of the same Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher, Chan Ho Park. The impossible feat has been marked as one of the rarest incidents to take place in MLB history.

Tatis Sr. teammate Mark McGwire once joked that one would have a better chance at winning a lottery than repeating what Tatis Sr. did that day. No incident similar to that has happened in the 147 years of professional baseball history. Tatis Jr. couldn’t have been prouder as he reminisced about his father’s wild feat. “I still think about it every day, and a smile comes to my face,” he mused.

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Let’s hope that Fernando Tatis Jr. brings the same fiery spirit to the upcoming 2024 games as well!

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Written by:

Shrabana Sengupta

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One take at a time

"Those who gaze outward dream, but those who turn inward awaken." A pro-writer for MLB EssentiallySports, I’ve been a fan of the New York Yankees since my school days. In my adolescent years, I was introduced to the iconic franchise through one of my beloved Friends characters, Joey.
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Edited by:

Deepanshi Bajaj