The hero of Sunday Night Baseball’s game between the Los Angeles Dodgers and San Diego Padres was LA’s Mookie Betts, who sent the game to extra innings with a two-out, ninth-inning home run.
The goat, at least according to ESPN analyst Eduardo Pérez, was SD’s Fernando Tatís Jr, for not being Mookie Betts.
After going 0-3 to start the game and having a mishap that led to a Tatís double in the first inning, Betts came up big in the ninth, sending a solo shot over the wall to force extra innings between the heated NL West rivals. The dinger also prompted a not-too-subtle shot at Tatís’s expense.
“That’s what a superstar looks like, Nando. Mookie Betts,” said Pérez as the camera lingered on Tatís watching the home-run celebration. “Redeeming himself after that first-inning mishap that he owned.”
"That's what a superstar looks like, Nando. Mookie Betts." – @PerezEd 👀 pic.twitter.com/zRrgSfvpS9
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) May 8, 2023
The Dodgers went on to win the game 5-2 in extra innings and Tatís finished 1-for-5 with one run and a strikeout.
Clearly, Pérez is holding onto a lot of resentment over Tatís’s recent spat of incidents that have derailed his meteoric rise and cast doubt on his maturity. The Padres star was suspended for 80 games for violating MLB’s performance-enhancing drugs policy last season and finally got shoulder surgery after resisting doing so for some time.
Reactions to Pérez’s dig were mixed, presumably down rooting lines. While some found the dig unnecessary and over-the-top, others felt that it was backed up by truth.
Saying this in a derogatory cadence towards Tatis like he’s not a Top 10 player in the game in his own right despite the suspension is laughably ridiculous. The SNB broadcast team with the exception of Cone sucks. https://t.co/nFX2VI6DWk
— Glen DeNigris (@GlenDeNigris) May 8, 2023
Mookie Betts had 1 hit all series meanwhile Tati went 6-12 with 2 home runs and 4Xbh. Lol love this man https://t.co/rwqymtc9Ki
— Meño (@YntManny) May 8, 2023
He not wrong https://t.co/P3VnC8zqZ0
— Leaobabygoat (@MiltonAndrees) May 8, 2023
I'm confused 🤔! Which one is the "Superstar?
During this 3 game series
Tatis – (a few clutch hits)
6-14/ Ba .429/ 2 HR/ Obp .429/ Slg 1.000/ Ops 1.429Betts – (1 clutch hit)
1-11/ Ba .091/ 1 HR/ Obp .231/ Slg .364/ Ops .658@Padres #Padres @dodgershttps://t.co/ETUoBvhEko— SouthEast Raised Me (@MrDimplesSD) May 8, 2023
In his fifth MLB season, Tatís does have a ways to go to match numbers with the 2018 AL MVP overall. However, if his troubles are indeed behind him, all signs point to the Padres’ slugger making a solid run at doing so and continuing to put up superstar numbers all his own. The 24-year-old is just two years removed from hitting .282/.364/.611 with 97 RBIs, 25 stolen bases, and an NL-leading 42 home runs.
