Fernando Tatis Jr. is back at it. The talented young player has been facing some backlash from various MLB teams after his return from an 80-game suspension. From chants of ‘cheater’ to ‘he’s on steroids’, nothing has been off limits at baseball stadiums. One of the biggest teams that have a bone to pick with Tatis is the New York Yankees, or rather, their fans.

But interestingly, the fraught relationship works both ways because the Padres player is not a big fan of the Bronx team either. At the recent match-up between these two giant franchises, however, Tatis showed that he will not take insults quietly.

Fernando Tatis Jr. hits a game-winning home run and immediately flips his bat

Bat flips may be a common move at ballparks but they never get old. One cannot predict when they may happen and every player does it differently. Nevertheless, they look cool. In the sixth inning of Padres vs Yankees, Tatis smashed a 439 feet homer over the left-field fence against Ron Marinaccio. As soon as he hit the ball, the shortstop stood there watching it soar for a moment.

Then he switched the bat from his left to right hand and flipped it towards the Padres’ dugout. It seemed like the umpire at the plate realized what was going to happen and stood back for a moment before walking away. The crowds screamed, whether Bronx or Friars’ fans, because the long ball helped the Giants clinch a victory later on.

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Yankees reporter Mike Daddino later posted a clip of the bat flip with the caption, “Anybody have a problem with this Fernando Tatis bat flip?” In a second thread tweet, he answered his own question, “Let the record show – I don’t. I probably would’ve flipped it higher.” And fans of the Pinstripes have much the exact same thing to say.

Even New York Yankees fans were impressed by Tatis’ cheeky move

If there is one baseball franchise whose fans are equally as well known as the team itself, it’s the Yankees. Their loyalty runs deep but only as far as performance is concerned. If a player betrays their trust, they become unforgivable in fans’ eyes. However, the same holds true for rival teams, too.

Fans were serenading Tatis with chants of ‘steroids’ in the game but the Padres shortstop proved he can take it as he imitated an orchestra conductor pointing at the crowds. Given that behavior, not many had a problem with his bat flip in the sixth inning. In fact, they wanted him to throw higher.

Most Yankees fans thought he had earned it.

One even had a newfound appreciation for Bronx fans.

This was Tatis’ eighth home run of the season and while his career is still young, the baseball world holds high expectations.

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