Padres right fielder Fernando Tatis Jr. has enjoyed being back in baseball this season after incurring an 80-game suspension for PED use on Aug. 12, 2022.
On April 26—six games into his return—Cubs fans greeted Tatis Jr. with chants of “He’s on steroids” from the Wrigley Field bleachers, to which Tatis Jr. responded with a goofy dance. The next night, he went 2-for-5 with three RBIs in a 5–3 Padres win.
The Tatis Jr. comeback tour continued Friday night, when San Diego opened a three-game series against the Yankees in New York. Once again greeted with NSFW chants and gestures making reference to his suspension, Tatis Jr. responded by getting down on one knee and conducting the crowd in a Leonard Bernstein-like fashion.
Tatis had Yankees fans in tears tonight pic.twitter.com/XSIvRt71ak
— Talkin’ Baseball (@TalkinBaseball_) May 27, 2023
The fun didn't end there, though.
With the Padres up 2–0 in the sixth inning, Tatis Jr. cracked a two-run home run to deep left field for his eighth dinger of the season. Taking his position after the bomb, he poked fun at New York fans for seemingly having nothing to offer in return.
LMAO Tatis giving it right back to Yankees fans after homering pic.twitter.com/99eV3FzvFw
— Talkin’ Baseball (@TalkinBaseball_) May 27, 2023
When it was all over, San Diego was a 5–1 victor over the Yankees.
“It was loud. It’s New York, you’re going to hear everything,” Tatis told reporters postgame. “But I’m just giving a good time to the fans. You’ve just got to learn how to embrace it and how to just give them some good feedback.”
