Tatís and his frequent bat flips made him the breakout performer of the pandemic-shortened '20 seasonGetty Images
Some of MLB's superstars have "shunned the opportunity to become the face of the game," but Padres SS Fernando Tatís Jr. "doesn’t shy away from that title," according to Jared Diamond of the WALL STREET JOURNAL. As MLB "struggles to maintain its place in the fabric of American society, Tatís could be the antidote." While he "isn’t MLB’s best player -- that honor still belongs to Mike Trout until further notice -- he is quite possibly the face of a sport desperate for somebody to emerge as a true crossover celebrity along the lines of Ken Griffey Jr. in the 1990s." Tatís was the "breakout performer of the pandemic-shortened 2020 season." However, it was "more than just numbers that transformed Tatís into such a force." It was how he did what "seemed impossible: make baseball look freaking cool." Tatís was the "most-searched player" in '20 on MLB Film Room. He gained "more followers on Instagram than any player in the sport in the regular season." His jersey is "currently the fourth-most popular in baseball." This winter, Tatís has been everywhere, "thanks to a concerted effort by MLB and his agency, MVP Sports Group, to put him out there." He appeared in a commercial for Adidas that "mocked the criticism of Tatís’s persona." On Monday, Sony announced that Tatís "would be the youngest player to ever appear on the cover of its popular MLB The Show videogame" (WALL STREET JOURNAL, 2/3).
