Padres Star Fernando Tatis Jr. Explains Why He Chose to Play in Dominican Winter League
It's been a slow winter for your San Diego Padres. They lost arguably their best player in Juan Soto, and might lose reigning Cy Young award winner Blake Snell before the offseason is over.
Nonetheless, the Padres' roster is still filled with talent. They will try to redeem a disappointing 2023 on the back of its core of All-Stars, including superstar outfielder Fernando Tatis Jr.
Tatis is putting in work for an entire 2024 season by playing in the Dominican Winter League with Estrellas Orientales.
Tatis spoke to the San Diego Tribune's Kevin Acee, and the 24-year-old explained why he decided to play in his home country's winter league.
“It brings you back to your roots,” the younger Tatis said Monday before playing in his fifth game for his hometown team. “I feel like myself. Here is where I became a really good baseball player, like where I separated from just having good talent to putting it in play and having results. … Baseball players, if they want to get better, they just need to play baseball.”
Although Tatis was serving out the end of a suspension during the first 20 games of 2023, he still managed to play 141 games while recording a .257 batting average. However, he wasn't the Tatis Jr. that stole people's hearts in his first handful of seasons. He recorded career lows in OPS, OPS+, slugging, and OBP.
It's not typical for a talent like Tatis to continue to playin the off-season, but it's clear he wants to get better. While some choose to train on their own and wait for spring training, Tatis apparently thrives in the competitive environment.
Fernando Tatis Sr. also gave his thoughts on his son playing in the Dominican Winter League.
“Money makes you lose the love for this game. If you make the kind of money he is making right now and you are playing in the Dominican, it’s because you love the game. He loves the game.”
The Dominican Republic is one of few places in the world currently hosting high-level professional baseball games. There happens to be a team in Tatis' home town of San Pedro de Macoris, and he's taking advantage of it. Through Monday, Tatis was hitting .346 with a .485 on-base percentage and .577 slugging percentage.
