In April of 1999, Fernando Tatis hit two grand slams in one inning. Yes, it really happened. If you were too young to remember it was quite the dang thing, let me tell you. Maybe the dangdest thing about it was that Dodgers manager Davey Johnson just left Chan Ho Park in to wear both of ‘em in what was an 11-run inning. And you think your boss hates you.
Flash forward twenty years later and Tatis’ son -- Padres rookie Fernando Tatis Jr. -- now has some April memories of his own thanks to this first big league homer, hit last night against the Dbacks. It came in the sixth inning off of fellow rookie Merrill Kelly, and just like his dad’s first slam off of Park, it was a no-doubter:
Get @tatis_jr that baseball!
— MLB (@MLB) April 2, 2019
His first career dinger was #crushed. pic.twitter.com/JKeJrCwm0K
The ball went 395 feet or so into the Western Metal Supply building. As a result, Tatis became the second-youngest Padre to go deep, doing so at 20 years and 89 days. Roberto Alomar was four days younger than Tatis when he hit his first dinger, also in April, in 1988.
Tatis 4-for-18 on the young season, but the future is oh so bright.