SAN DIEGO – In discussing options for a long-term deal with electrifying young shortstop Fernando Tatis Jr., the San Diego Padres raised the concept of a “statue contract”.
As in the case, if the child is as good as the Hall of Famers Tony Gwynn and Trevor Hoffman, maybe in 15 or 20 years there will be a statue of ‘El Niño’ next to the adults of Padres in a grassy area just across from Petco Park.
The options were year-to-year, a multi-year deal that bought out a year or two from Tatis’ free agency, or a contract in which Tatis was likely to spend the rest of his career with the Padres.
“In the typical way of Tati, his only real remark was, ‘Why not my whole career? ” Said general manager AJ Preller on Monday when he announced that the two parties had concluded Tatis’ $ 143 million, 14-year contract, the last in baseball history.
“He wanted to be one of those very unique players playing his career in one place,” Preller said. “He loves the franchise, he loves the city, he loves his teammates and he talked a lot about really wanting to get in the way of the statue contract.”
Tatis said, “I want the statue in one team. I want to be able to stay in one team and build my heritage here in San Diego.”
If Tatis and the Padres are correct, the big decision will be which version of “El Niño” shows the statue: the one that plays high-speed trajectories at shortstop, the one with a “Matrix” type to avoid it base be marked out or the one with the epic bat flip after humoring for the second time in a playoff game?
“I’m going to put the numbers first and then we can discuss them,” Tatis said with a laugh during a spring training video conference in Peoria, Arizona. “I do not know. Maybe we can have three statues in different ways. We’ll see what happens.”
Tatis, 22, was eligible for salary arbitration after this season and after the 2024 season for free agency.
He is a son of former big league striker Fernando Tatis. He played just 143 games in two seasons, including the pandemic-shortened 2020 season, but quickly became one of the faces of baseball.
He stands out because of his flair, easy smile, blonde dreadlocks flowing under his cap and dance moves in the dugout after hitting home runs.
Most important for the Padres: Tatis made baseball fun again in San Diego after years of futility. He helped San Diego end a 13-year drought in 2020 and a game map series against the St. Louis Cardinals to win before the Padres were swept by rival Los Angeles Dodgers in the NL Division Series.
‘I’m just the same kid on the field. Nothing is going to change, ‘he said. “I play the game I love. And I feel if you do things with passion and love, I feel it will reward you. And I feel like when people ask me how I’m going to play this game., I’m just going to be the same child every time. ‘
Tatis dared to challenge the norms of the old school. After winning his second home race in an 11-9 victory in the second game of the game card series against the Cardinals, he unleashed an emphatic batting surface. A picture of Tatis at that moment is on the cover of the video game “MLB The Show 21.”
In August, Tatis caused a stir when he hit a grand slam with a score of 3-0, while the Padres led the Texas Rangers by seven runs. The rage died down, and the Padres became the first team in MLB history to succeed in four consecutive games and five in six games, leading to the nickname ‘Slam Diego’.
“He has a tremendous respect for the game of baseball. A lot was earned last year, young players changed the game of baseball,” Preller said. “What results in success does not really change from era to era. Some styles change, sometimes the skills change sometimes, but he respects the greatness, he respects the people who came before him. Much the credit goes to his family . ‘
Tatis reached .301 in 143 games with 39 home runs, 98 RBIs and 27 stolen bases.
San Diego promotes Tatis to the major on the opening day of 2019, and misses the chance to postpone his free agency by waiting a few weeks – a reality of the game that other young stars like Kris Bryant play with the Chicago Cubs and Bryce Harper with the Washington Nationals.
The length of Tatis’ contract exceeds the $ 325 million, 13-year agreement in November 2014 between Miami and Giancarlo Stanton, which was traded to the New York Yankees in December 2017, and the $ 330 million contract, 13 years before the 2019 season. between Harper and Philadelphia.
Baseball’s biggest deal per dollar remains Mike Trout’s $ 426.5 million, 12-year contract, signed with the Angels in March 2019. this season.