The San Diego Padres' season has gone down the drain, and it could cost Fernando Tatis Jr. the National League MVP Award in the process. But amid the disappointment, Tatis can still amaze.
That's exactly what the Padres star did Thursday night in Los Angeles. Tatis hit a home run out of Dodger Stadium, which is rare territory.
Check out this mammoth blast:
"467," yeah okay. pic.twitter.com/vyoWrSH2LT
— San Diego Padres (@Padres) October 1, 2021
The 467-foot dinger is now the second-longest homer of Tatis' career. He joins Giancarlo Stanton, Mark McGwire, Mike Piazza and Willie Stargell (twice) as the only players to hit a home run completely out of Dodger Stadium, so that shows just how rare it is.
Padres manager Jayce Tingler was in awe of the moon shot, per AJ Cassavell of MLB.com:
“Everybody was just kind of in shock,” said Padres manager Jayce Tingler. “You think back at some of the guys that have been here over the years. Not only was that ball impressive, but it was impressive at night, where the ball usually doesn’t travel as well.”
The Padres lost despite the monster home run, 8-3, continuing a miserable slide that recently eliminated them from playoff contention. San Diego is just 78-81 after losing six games in a row, making them the most disappointing team in the majors in 2021.
Even so, Tatis could still wind up winning MVP. The long home run was his 42nd of the season, the most in the NL. He has 97 runs batted in and has a slash line of .281/.365/.614. He has done all this despite a balky shoulder that has limited him to 127 games.
Philadelphia Phillies star Bryce Harper and Washington Nationals star Juan Soto are the other top contenders for the award. The good news for Tatis is neither of those teams will make the playoffs either, with the Nationals tied for last place in the NL East.
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