Met of the Day: Fernando Tatis (2008-2009)

Fernando Tatis Jr. was born on January 1, 1975 in the Dominican Republic. He was signed by the Rangers in 1992 as an amateur free agent. By 1996 he was considered the top prospect in the Texas League at AA level. He got called up to the Rangers for 1997 and played third base hitting .256 with 8 HRs & 29 RBIs. In 1998 he got traded to the Cardinals with Darrin Oliver for Todd Stottlemeyer & Royce Clayton. He did well as a versatile player in his first two seasons in St. Louis, hitting .298 in 1999 with 34 HRs, 31 doubles & 107 RBIs all career bests.

On April 23rd, he became the only player in MLB History to hit two grand slams in the same inning. It happened in Los Angeles in the 3rd inning, both times off Chan Ho Park. That season he as second on the Cards to only Mark McGwire in HRs. The next season he came back to earth and hit .253 with 18 HRs. A groin injury set him back further and he got traded to the Expos. He bottomed out in Montreal hitting .224 then a horrid .194 in 2003.

He went back to his home town and the only motivation to play baseball again, came because he wanted to save a church in the town of San Pedro de Macorís. Soon the Orioles signed him for 2006, where After 26 games he hit .250. The Mets gave him a shot in 2007 and he played with the AAA New Orleans Zephyrs. He got the money to save the church.

When Angel Pagan got hurt in 2008, Tatis got the call up. He hit a walk off double on May 28th against the Marlins and was up to stay. He saw a lot of playing time in the outfield due to injuries to Moises Alou & Ryan Church. The versatile Tatis also played all infield positions, making him a valuable asset. He excelled and won the NL Comeback Player of the Year in 2008, hitting .297 with 11 HRs, 16 doubles & 47 RBIs in 92 games. When he went down with an injury on September 16th, diving for a ball against the Nationals it was a big blow to the Mets. He separated his shoulder and was out for the rest of the season.

In 2009 with all the Met injuries, Tatis played all over the diamond in 125 games, batting another solid .282. He hit 8 HRs with 21 doubles & 47 RBIs.