Fernando Tatis Jr. Has a Blast in First Ever Start at New Position

The San Diego Padres superstar shortstop Fernando Tatis Jr. is, at least for now, and for the fist time in his career, the Padres superstar right fielder. And let's just say that the new position seemed to agree with him, at least at the plate.

Fernando Tatis Jr. came back like yeah that MVP is mine hope you guys didn’t forget pic.twitter.com/Lcex5PMOCw

— Talkin’ Baseball (@TalkinBaseball_) August 15, 2021

.@Tatis_jr has 2 HR in every game he's played in right field. pic.twitter.com/f0YfBOUUgh

— MLB (@MLB) August 15, 2021

Yes, "El Nino" blasted two home runs against the Arizona Diamondbacks in his first-ever game in the big leagues as an outfielder, and added a double and a single to go 4-for-5 with 4 RBI, and now boasts some gaudy, historic stats:

.@tatis_jr is having a year for the ages. pic.twitter.com/8zk5FKYP4V

— MLB Stats (@MLBStats) August 15, 2021

His current OPS of 1.024 is the highest ever for a player having a 30-20 (HR-SB) season. And this all comes at just the right time for the Padres, who have been in an August swoon, and have dropped 10 games off the pace in the NL West, and cling to a 2.5 game lead on the 2nd Wild Card spot. 

In right field, Tatis handled the first two fly balls that came his way, and also had to run a fair distance in the 3rd inning to retrieve a triple that was ripped deep into the RF corner by Ketel Marte. 

There's no word if the position switch is permanent, but for now, at the suggestion of Tatis, he will play the outfield to help cut down on the risk of diving for balls at shortstop and re-injuring his troublesome shoulder which has been dislocated three times this season. 

Photo Credit: Rick Scuteri-USA TODAY Sports