| Fernando Tatís | |
|---|---|
 Tatís with the New York Mets in 2007 | |
| Algodoneros de Unión Laguna | |
| Third baseman /Manager | |
| Born: (1975-01-01)January 1, 1975 (age 51) San Pedro de Macorís,Dominican Republic | |
Batted: Right Threw: Right | |
| MLB debut | |
| July 26, 1997, for the Texas Rangers | |
| Last MLB appearance | |
| July 4, 2010, for the New York Mets | |
| MLB statistics | |
| Batting average | .265 |
| Home runs | 113 |
| Runs batted in | 448 |
Stats atBaseball Reference  | |
| Teams | |
| Career highlights and awards | |
| |
Fernando Gabriel Tatís Medina Sr. (tah-TEES; born January 1, 1975) is a Dominican former professionalbaseballthird baseman who currently serves as themanager for theAlgodoneros de Unión Laguna of theMexican League. Over his 11-yearMajor League Baseball (MLB) career, Tatís played for theTexas Rangers,St. Louis Cardinals,Montreal Expos,Baltimore Orioles, andNew York Mets. He holds the major league record forruns batted in (RBI) in an inning, a feat that he achieved by hitting twogrand slams in one inning during a game on April 23, 1999, becoming the only player in MLB history to do so.[1] His son, Fernando Jr., plays for theSan Diego Padres.
At the age of 17, Tatís was signed as an amateurfree agent byOmar Minaya and theTexas Rangers on August 25, 1992. Tatís played his first game inMajor League Baseball with the Rangers, atthird base, almost five years later on July 26, 1997, and went on to play 60 games with the Rangers in his rookie season. At the trade deadline on July 31, 1998, the Rangers traded Tatís along withDarren Oliver andMark Little to theSt. Louis Cardinals forRoyce Clayton andTodd Stottlemyre.[2]
Tatís had the best season of his career in 1999 with the St. Louis Cardinals. He hit 34home runs with 107 RBI and 21stolen bases, with a .298batting average. On April 23, 1999, Tatís hit twogrand slams in oneinning, against starting pitcherChan Ho Park of theLos Angeles Dodgers.[3] He is the only batter in MLB history to accomplish this feat,[4] which also set the MLB record for runs batted in during a single inning: eight.[1]
After playing only 96 games for the Cardinals in 2000 because of an injury, Tatís was traded to theMontreal Expos along withBritt Reames forDustin Hermanson andSteve Kline. Tatís played just 208 games over three seasons with the Expos because of injuries.
TheTampa Bay Devil Rays invited Tatís to spring training in 2004, but he did not make the team and was released. Tatís next did not play professional baseball for two seasons and resided in theDominican Republic.
TheBaltimore Orioles signed Tatís to a minor-league contract on November 25, 2005. He returned to baseball to raise money to build a church.[5] He played most of the season for theAAA baseballOttawa Lynx, eventually playing in 28 games for the Orioles after being called up on July 21, 2006.[6]
In 2007, Tatís was invited to spring training with theLos Angeles Dodgers. After being assigned to minor-league baseball camp, Tatís was granted his request to be released from his contract on March 14. Just nine days later, he signed a minor-league contract with theNew York Mets, and spent the 2007 season with its AAA affiliate, theNew Orleans Zephyrs.
On May 11, 2008, Tatís was called up from the Zephyrs to replaceÁngel Pagán. Tatís had started playingoutfield in the minor leagues to become a more versatile player.[7]
On May 28, Tatís hit a walk-off double againstJustin Miller to defeat theFlorida Marlins in the bottom of the 12th inning. This was Tatís's first career walk-off hit. Tatís played most of his time with the Mets in left field and right field because of injuries to usual startersMoisés Alou andRyan Church.[8]
On September 16, 2008, Tatís separated his shoulder diving for a fly ball in a game against theWashington Nationals. The Mets team physician diagnosed the injury as a Grade III separation, a complete separation of the joint from the socket. Due to this, Tatís missed the rest of the 2008 regular season. Despite missing the end of the season, on October 23, 2008, Tatís received theSporting News Comeback Player of the Year Award for the National League.
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Tatís was named to theDominican Republic national baseball team for the2009 World Baseball Classic as a replacement forAlex Rodriguez, who was injured.
Tatís played intermittently for the Mets in 2009 and 2010. His last Major League game was on July 4, 2010. He was also the latestNew York Met to wearuniform number 17, which was taken out of circulation as a mark of respect forKeith Hernandez, who wore it for the Mets from 1983 to 1989.
On April 1, 2014, Tatís signed with theVaqueros Laguna of theMexican League. He was released on May 1. In 23 games he hit .241/.348/.367 with 2 home runs and 10 RBIs.
On October 5, 2014, Tatís announced his retirement as a player.[9] For his career, he batted .265 with 113 home runs and 448 RBI.
On January 9, 2018, theBoston Red Sox announced that Tatís had joined their minor league organization as manager of one of their tworookie-levelDominican Summer League Red Sox teams.[10] He returned for the 2019 season,[11] but was no longer with the organization entering the 2020 season.[12]
On November 26, 2025, Tatis was hired to serve as the manager for theAlgodoneros de Unión Laguna of theMexican League.[13][14]
Tatís's father, Fernando Antonio Tatís, was also a professional baseball player. He was an infielder in theHouston Astros system from 1969 through 1978, reaching as high asClass AAA before retiring and moving on tocoaching andscouting Houston's minor leaguers. The elder Tatís disappeared from Fernando's life when he was four years old. The two were not reunited until 1997 when the younger Tatís was a rookie with the Texas Rangers. Rangers scoutOmar Minaya, whom Tatís described as afather figure, related the story of Tatís's search for his father toThe New York Times national baseball writerMurray Chass. Chass wrote about the search[15] and that article led to the reunion of Tatís and his father.[16] His mother is Yudelca Tatís.[17]
Tatís' older sonFernando Tatís Jr. is ashortstop andoutfielder for theSan Diego Padres.[18] His younger son Elijah is amiddle infielder playing in theChicago White Sox farm system as of 2022[update].[19]
