The off-season has transitioned into Spring Training with a number of storylines developing over the past few weeks. One such storyline is the return of Fernando Tatis Jr., the controversial San Diego Padres star. He has been active in Spring Training as the 2023 season draws near. Tatis Jr. is due to serve the last 20 games of his 80-game PED band this season. That means he will play baseball for the first time since the 2021 season.

Tatis Jr. has been working out and playing in Spring Training games to get ready and find some rhythm. Recently, he opened up about being booed by fierce rival fans and the feeling it gave him. 

San Diego Padres star Fernando Tatis Jr. enjoyed being booed by Los Angeles Dodgers fans

The San Diego Padres’ most recent Spring Training game came against their NL West rival, the Los Angeles Dodgers. The Padres lost the game 8-3, but for Fernando Tatis Jr., it was all about the game time. When asked if it felt good being booed by Dodgers fans, Tatis Jr. replied with just two words, “Oh, yeah”. The Twitter account 97.3 The Fan shared a video of the interaction on Twitter. 

In the video, Tatis Jr. said, “Oh yeah.” He then immediately explained saying, “All the time. Feels great. When you hear those boos, you definitely got history.” In the 2022 postseason, the Padres beat the Dodgers in the Division Series, further intensifying the rivalry between the teams. It will be interesting to see which team gets the upper hand during their regular season matchups. 

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Tatis Jr. will continue to appear in Spring Training games but will miss the first 20 games of the regular season. But he seems more disappointed about missing the World Baseball Classic. He will have to work hard as the Padres aim to make a deep postseason push and he may be a wild card for them.

The Padres will push to make the World Series

The San Diego Padres are coming off a 2022 season where they won 89 games before shockingly reaching the NLCS. They were defeated in the NLCS but had a great 2022 season in general. Going into the 2023 season, the Padres are among the favorites to make the World Series. With Manny Machado, Juan Soto, and Xander Bogaerts, they have an elite batting lineup to start the season.

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Add Fernando Tatis Jr. to that and they look like the team to beat. What do you think of Tatis Jr.’s comments about being booed by Los Angeles Dodgers fans? Please share your thoughts in the comments below.