Padres, Fernando Tatis Jr. sign 14-year ‘statue contract’
Associated PressSAN DIEGO — In discussing options for a long-term deal with electrifying young shortstop Fernando Tatis Jr., the San Diego Padres brought up the concept of “a statue contract.” As in, if the kid is as good as Hall of Famers Tony Gwynn and Trevor Hoffman were, maybe in 15 or 20 years there will be a statue of “El Niño” alongside those Padres greats in a grassy area just beyond Petco Park. I want to be able to stay on one team and build my legacy over here in San Diego.” If Tatis and the Padres are correct, the big decision will be which version of “El Niño” the statue shows: the one one making slick plays at shortstop, the one with a “Matrix” type move to avoid being tagged out at first base or the one with the epic bat flip after homering for the second time in a playoff game? “I’m going to put those numbers first and then we can discuss it,” Tatis said with a laugh during a videoconference from spring training in Peoria, Arizona. And I feel like when people ask me how I’m going to play this game, I’m just going to be the same kid every single time.” Tatis has dared to challenge old-school norms.
History of this topic
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