MIAMI (AP) — Fernando Tatis Jr. knew the ball was gone, knew he had just hit a grand slam, knew the fans at loanDepot Park were going to spend the next few moments roaring so loudly that their cries would keep echoing off the ballpark’s roof.
And he wasn’t done there.
Forget the grand slam — the first for the Dominican Republic in its World Baseball Classic history, the catalyst for what became a 10-1 win over Israel and assured his team’s trip to the quarterfinals. The celebration was even better: Tatis posed at the plate for a couple seconds, then put the barrel of the bat in his right hand, then threw the bat over his left shoulder and started gesturing to his dugout.
Epic swing. Epic moment.
“We just know there’s way more than this,” Tatis said. “We have been enjoying the moment. We have been enjoying the success that we have been (getting) on the field. But at the same time, we know there’s a bigger goal out there.”
The goal is clear: Win three games in the knockout stage and win the nation’s second title. It won’t be easy, not with Shohei Ohtani and Japan on their way to Miami for the quarterfinals (and, they hope, the semifinals and final). The U.S. roster is loaded, and the Dominicans have a showdown with Venezuela in Miami on Wednesday night before the quarterfinals even start.
“Today it was Tatís Jr.’s day,” Dominican Republic manager Albert Pujols said. “He took the show, and that’s how dangerous this lineup is. … He can put the ball in the seats like he did today, and that was a huge moment for us to turn things around when he dug deep and hit that grand slam.”
The Dominican Republic hasn’t been tested; its three wins are by a combined 34-5.
“It’s the type of team you put together when you want to win on PlayStation or MLB The Show,” Israel manager Brad Ausmus said. “There’s a couple other teams in this tournament that are probably similar. They’re a very good team, like I said. Right now, they’re one of the best teams on the planet.”
The Dominican Republic won the tournament in 2013, making it the only nation other than the U.S. or Japan to win the WBC crown. Japan has won three times, the U.S. once.
Tatis remembers watching his father, Fernando Tatis Sr. — who once had two grand slams in the same inning of a major league game — play in the 2009 WBC, and he has recollections of watching the title run four years later.
And with one swing, and one bat flip, he got a new memory on Monday that he knows many Dominicans will savor.
“We are one, the team and the fans,” Tatis said. “We are one. We do our best on the field, and they make noise in the stadium, in the stands. We are just one, and this victory belongs to all.”
___
AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/MLB
