DENVER – Fernando Tatis and Vladimir Guerrero wear juniors who follow their names with grace and dignity, knowing their simple lineage will reset expectations and perceptions before they can even step into a batter’s box.
For a while, with Tatis’ body failing him and Guerrero carrying too many pounds after the pandemic as his stat line generated satisfaction but not superlatives, it was fair to wonder when and if would attain the greatness intended for them.
Oddly enough, this week should be their crowning glory. As Major League Baseball comes together for its All-Star Game, Guerrero and Tatis arrive with the same accolades worthy of young kings. They received more All-Star fan votes than any player in their respective leagues. They each completed 28 circuits.
However, Tatis, the shortstop of the San Diego Padres and Guerrero, the Toronto Blue Jays first baseman and son of the Hall of Fame, must give way. It’s Shohei Ohtani’s arrival week, and rightly so.
This puts them both, at 22, in a unique position to soak up their first All-Star Games from the perch of experience, their three seasons in the major leagues gradually giving the expected greatness.
Capturing it was as much about knowing yourself, inside and out, as anything on the pitch.
It’s a lesson Tatis’ infield mentor Manny Machado brought home.
“What’s a better version of Tatis,” Machado often asks him, “than being you? Bring it every day. Even 50%, 70%, you’re better than everyone else.”
Lesson learned. Tatis leads the National League in home runs (28) and stolen goals (20), as well as strokes (.656) and OPS (1.020). He flourished accepting preemptive strikes from Gatorade and the Padres themselves, the former making him their baseball ambassador before he even played 150 career games, the latter guaranteeing him $ 341 million. .
It seems that part of that money was spent on a good pair of noise canceling headphones.
“Believe it or not, most of the time I don’t even care,” Tatis said Monday in the scorching heat outside Coors Field. “When you’re one of those guys you can’t mind.
“You can’t live your life based on what people say or expect of you. Every time I go out on the field I’m the same kid who plays the game I love and enjoys it every time. “
While his 19 mistakes are somewhat concerning, the momentum he plays with, his remarkable hairstyle, and the chain that reflects his nickname – El Niño – make him a feast for baseball’s eyes. His production makes him the meat and potatoes of the Padres, whose fans have aggressively flocked to Petco Park since the attendance restrictions were lifted.
Yet his biggest fan may be across the country.
“I love all of his playing,” Guerrero said through a performer. “The energy he brings, the way he plays for his teammates. I love the whole game.
“This is what we want: we all want to have fun. I’m sure everyone here wants to have fun and we are trying to do it and that is what we are doing. We are going to keep having fun.”
When you see Vladito cut with his American League teammates, swinging firmly but wildly for the vast expanses of Coors Field on Tuesday night, know that the fun was well deserved.
Catching up with the hype
When COVID-19 shut down the baseball industry, it put Guerrero on a crazy 15-month journey. He showed up for his second season in July heavier, his bat slowed down, his effectiveness dulled.
So Guerrero had a vicious winter of training, proudly touting his wins – and losses – on Instagram. He lost 42 pounds in all, he said, although spring training was filled with so many happy self-help stories.
Guerrero, who hit nine home runs with a .791 OPS in 60 games in 2020, was ready to back it up.
“There was a lot of hype. There is a lot of hype, ”said Blue Jays second baseman Marcus Semien, who joined the club this year. “Last year, when you say he had a bad year, I’m pretty sure his OPS was 0.780. OK, so he had a 60-game drop and everyone is like,” Oh no. “
“Now he’s coming back this year and it’s like, ‘Oh, that’s what they were talking about.’ “
He punishes baseballs, leading the majors with 45 hitting balls at least 110 mph. The results reflect the following: He leads the major leagues in batting average (0.332), percentage on base (0.430) and OPS (1.089).
Semien and his teammate George Springer call Guerrero’s steamy, low workouts “two irons”, in the way they explode off the blade, uh, bat, and continue to carry. “He hits two irons over the center field hitter’s eye and it’s like I can’t do that if I try,” Semien said.
Perhaps it is nothing that no one expects from the much-vaunted international signatory. Yet the toil to get there is not lacking in pride.
“During the offseason, I worked very, very hard. It means a lot to me to be here, ”Guerrero said.
He’s also leaving footprints beyond those of his Hall of Fame father – whose career record of 44 home runs may not last beyond this year in the family record books. Elder Guerrero was the 2004 AL MVP, a distinction that may soon be matched by his son.
“In my case, my father has already done what he had to do. Now I have to do it myself,” he says. “Now I have to put my name on top like my dad just did.”
OHTANI: All-Star named starting pitcher, first at bat
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The future is in their hands
The genetics are nice, but they also come under scrutiny. Guerrero and Tatis’ compatriot Juan Soto was an unknown parent when he made his teenage debut. Now he is proud and relieved that the duo are living up to expectations.
“It’s amazing what they can do,” said Soto, “and what they did. I’m happy for them. We all knew where they were from.”
Where they are going is even more promising. They’re not yet graying at 22, but they’re great, and now know that improvement is always possible, that everything, really, is within their grasp.
“Each year,” Tatis says, “brings its own lessons. You keep learning and enjoying every moment.”