Commentary: Tatís Solidifies His Spot as the Face of Baseball
On Wednesday night, Fernando Tatís Jr. agreed to the third-largest (and the longest-ever) contract in MLB history, worth 14 years and $340 million dollars.
It’s an incredible development, given the circumstances. For starters, we’re in the middle of a notoriously stingy offseason as owners lick their perceived financial wounds from the pandemic, so to see this kind of investment from a team is surprising to say the least. But it seems especially odd given that Tatís has barely finished his second year in the Major Leagues, meaning that he isn’t even arbitration eligible yet and theoretically should not have much bargaining power. And this isn’t even getting into the fact that he is just 22 years old. To put it bluntly, people of his age and tenure just don’t get contracts like this. In fact, before Tatis, the largest pre-arbitration extension was given to Mike Trout, and it was worth a total of $144.5 million.
However, while this deal may seem odd given the service-time-obsessed and salary-depressing ways of modern MLB teams, it more than makes sense for Fernando Tatís Jr. Why? Because it’s Fernando Tatís Jr. Frankly, this contract extension just further proves what we already know to be true: Tatís isn’t going away anytime soon. In fact, he’s barely getting started.
This is mostly because his impact on the game goes well beyond the statbook. Sure, I could rave about the fact that he was a 7-WAR player at 21 years old. I could marvel at his spray charts, his exit velocity, his speed, and his defensive ability. Hell, I’ve already written an article about why he’s still good even during his slumps. But at the end of the day, that’s not what makes him as valuable as he is.
What he really brings to the table is something MLB has been sorely missing as of late: genuine star power. Sure, there are a lot of good players in MLB right now, and a few of them have moderate fame outside of baseball circles. But no player in the league right now has the potential to transcend the game quite like Tatís. And alongside players like Francisco Lindor and Mookie Betts, he’s bringing a level of swagger and fun to the game that MLB desperately needs to get more people (particularly kids and teenagers) interested in the game again. In other words, he is must-see TV, which is more than can be said for MLB in general during the last decade.
A big part of MLB’s recent struggle for cultural relevance is that since Derek Jeter retired in 2014, no player has really been able to step into his role as the face of baseball. A lot of players have been nominated, and some have tried to make it happen, but none have particularly succeeded at attaining widespread appeal. These players have typically fallen into two camps:
The first camp is made up of the players who have the talent, but don’t necessarily want the spotlight. For example, we are currently witnessing two of the best careers in MLB history with Mookie Betts and Mike Trout. On the field, they are two of the best to ever do it, and we are fortunate to be able to see them at their peaks. However, these two have never been ones to chase the spotlight in their careers. They are perfectly content to show up to the ballpark, hit dingers, and make spectacular plays on the field - and that’s okay! Just because a player is great, doesn’t mean we have to thrust them in the spotlight against their will.
On the other side of this is the second camp, which is made up of players who actively seek out that spotlight, but either don’t have the talent or personality to be that kind of superstar. In other words, these are the guys that desperately want to be the guy. Obviously, the most glaring example here is Trevor Bauer. Bauer has spent his entire career trying to find ways to get himself as much attention as possible, and while he’s gotten quite good at it (winning a Cy Young helps), his public perception is based more on notoriety than fame. Turns out, being a cocky asshole who constantly punches down, has to talk over everyone, and can’t take criticism or accountability for his actions is a good way to attract an army of Barstool Bros, but a terrible way to bring people into the sport and represent MLB to the public. Go figure.
Tatís, however, is in a different league. He’s not just good, he’s legitimately a top-five player in the game today. He exudes swagger and confidence, but he never comes off as being too big for his britches. Most importantly though, while he doesn’t actively seek the spotlight, he’s more than comfortable inside of it, and he commands it with both his play and his personality. He’s making the game cool, interesting, and noteworthy again. Not just for statheads, Barstool Bros, or traditionalists, but for everyone.
As such, I’m very glad to see him embracing his role as the new face of baseball. When I see a guy like that being covered on ESPN, getting big endorsement deals, and gracing the cover of video games, it really does give me hope - because for all it’s current faults, MLB is in good hands for the future.
The NBA has LeBron, the NFL has Mahomes, and now, MLB has Fernando Tatís Jr. It’s time to let the kid play lead the way.