The Fernando Tatis Story

If you are a regular reader here at Mop Up Duty then you know I am a sucker for a comeback story.  The New York Sun has an article detailing the story behind Tatis’ rise, fall and bounce-back.

I remember seeing Tatis play in the minor leagues not long ago and wondered what happened to the guy who once knocked 34 HR 107 RBI while stealing 21 bags in a season. He seemed to have such a promising career ahead of him and then it flamed out. During his downward decline, he actually sat out of baseball for 3 whole seasons!

While sitting out from 2003 to 2006, Tatis stayed at home in the Dominican Republic. His hometown, San Pedro de Macoris, needed to buy land to build a new church. His only chance to earn the money was through a major league comeback, but no one seemed to think he had anything left in the tank. Then before the 2006 season, Tatis got a surprise call from the Baltimore Orioles. Given a chance to raise money for his town and to reignite his desire to play, he accepted. Tatis was a part-time player that year, netting just 56 at-bats before being tossed overboard.

Not long after that, the Mets gave him a shot and he is now hitting .294/.359/.489, one of the more productive outfielders in the NL.

To read the full story, click here.