Tatis Jr. Hits Grand Slam, Gets Flack for Breaking “Unwritten Rule”

San Diego Padres slugger Fernando Tatis Jr. rustled some feathers around the MLB when he hit a grand slam against the Texas Rangers at a moment when the Padres were already leading by seven points.

With the bases loaded and a 3-0 count, Tatis Jr. crushed the next pitch, hitting his league-leading 11th home run of the season and putting the Padres up 14-3.

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Pitcher Juan Nicasio was taken out of the game, relieved by Ian Gibaut. His first pitch to the next Padres batter, Manny Machado, was behind his back. The pitch was ordered by Rangers manager Chris Woodward as a warning related to Tatis’s grand slam.

Both Woodward and Gibaut have been suspended for three games, with the MLB ruling that you can’t throw behind a batter as retribution for a grand slam, no matter the circumstances.

For many old school baseball fans and players, Tatis Jr. broke an “unwritten rule” by swinging at a 3-0 pitch and hitting a grand slam when the game was already out of reach for the Rangers. Tatis Jr. did get a sign from his third base coach telling him not to swing at the pitch but didn’t heed it, which led to him getting an earful from his own manager Jayce Tingler.

“I was locked in on the game, just trying to produce for my team. I didn’t look to my third-base coach. I was just trying to take a good pitch and put my barrel on it,” Tatis Jr. later said.