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Fernando Tatis Jr.’s Tony Gwynn-inspired cleats a good luck charm in Padres historic comeback vs. Cubs

Originally posted on ClutchPoints | By Owen Crisafulli | Last updated 4/9/24

For much of the night, things didn’t look good for the San Diego Padres. They fell behind 8-0 after four innings against the Chicago Cubs, and trailed by the same deficit heading into the bottom of the sixth. But then the Padres bats woke up to the tune of a seven-run inning, and in the bottom of the eighth, Fernando Tatis Jr. completed the comeback by launching a go-ahead two-run homer, which led to the final score settling in at 9-8.

After enduring a quiet game prior to this big at-bat, Tatis delivered in a big way for the Padres, and helped them avoid their big rally falling short. If you ask the superstar outfielder, his Tony Gwynn-inspired cleats helped play a big role in the team’s stunning comeback victory, and it sounds like he will continue wearing them, especially considering how things just went for San Diego in this one.

“Definitely the shoes. The power came from above. Always grateful. Definitely a little bit inspired today. I’m going to keep playing with them. Hopefully, they keep sending good luck. Just happy I was wearing those shoes today.” – Fernando Tatis Jr., ESPN

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Fernando Tatis Jr. stepping up in big way for Padres early on this season

San Diego Padres right fielder Fernando Tatis Jr. (23) celebrates after hitting a two-run home run against the Chicago Cubs during the eighth inning at Petco Park. Mandatory Credit: Orlando Ramirez-USA TODAY Sports

Tatis has teamed up with the branding company Xample to create 50 different pairs of custom cleats throughout the 2024 campaign, and his latest pair of kicks saw him paying homage to the greatest Padre of all time in Gwynn. “Mr. Padre” delivered so many times throughout his career with San Diego, and Tatis clearly took inspiration from him with this big play.

While it hasn’t always been smooth sailing for him, Tatis has done his best to become the next big star to lead the Padres to greatness. After a delayed, yet solid 2023 campaign, Tatis is looking to prove that he is one of the best players in the league over the course of a full season of work, and delivering in the clutch like he did on Monday against the Cubs is a pretty good way to do that.

It’s been a solid start to the new season for Tatis (.286 BA, 4 HR, 8 RBI,.903 OPS), and he will look to continue to deliver as the leader of San Diego’s offense throughout the course of the season. Staying on the field is obviously the most important piece of the puzzle, but so far, all has gone well for Tatis when it comes to this new campaign.

While Tatis has quite a few other custom cleats to unveil throughout the season, it seems like he’s going to be sticking with this pair for some time considering the events that transpired against the Cubs. Sometimes, good luck charms do exist in sports, and it will be interesting to see what Tatis has in store next when these two squads face off against each other again on Tuesday night.

This article first appeared on ClutchPoints and was syndicated with permission.

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