There has been a ton of controversy surrounding star shortstop Fernando Tatis Jr. after it was reported last week that he would be suspended 80 games for violating the MLB’s performance-enhancing drug policy.
This suspension covered the duration of the 2022 MLB season, as well as making him ineligible for the postseason, which is a huge blow to the San Diego Padres considering they went all in during the MLB trade deadline to acquire star outfielder Juan Soto as well as star closer Josh Hader earlier this month.
Tatis Jr. has certainly been a budding star for the sport of baseball in his young career, and one MLB Hall of Famer takes exception to how the league handled his suspension.
“MLB needs to have some regulations before they made public news like the one that happened to Tatis Jr. I think they haven’t handed this situation the right way,” said former Boston Red Sox legend David Ortiz via MLB insider Hector Gomez. “We can’t kill our product, we’re talking about an amazing player.”
David Ortiz on Fernando Tatis Jr.'s suspension: “MLB needs to have some regulations before they made public news like the one that happened to Tatis Jr. I think they haven’t handled this situation the right way. We can’t kill our product, we're talking about an amazing player". pic.twitter.com/hvNf2bxiVq
— Héctor Gómez (@hgomez27) August 15, 2022
These comments are curious to think about considering Ortiz reportedly tested positive for an unidentified Performance Enhancing Drug via a report by the New York Times in 2009, which nearly tarnished his legacy as a player.
The accuracy of those tests has since been put into question, and he never tested positive again, but he clearly knows how it feels to be in Tatis’s shoes of being accused of cheating.
There have been a number of excuses from the Tatis’ camp ranging from bacteria from a haircut causing the positive test result, to medication to treat ringworm resulting in the positive test.
Whatever the reason for the test result is, it’s clear that Tatis will not be as lucky as Ortiz was in his career, and this will be a dark stain on his legacy in the league for the rest of his career.