San Diego Padres shortstop Fernando Tatis Jr. has been getting ripped for violating baseball's so-called unwritten rules. Orlando Ramirez-USA TODAY Sports

Pedro Martinez defends Fernando Tatis over grand slam incident

Originally posted on Larry Brown Sports
By Steve DelVecchio | Last updated 9/8/20

Fernando Tatis Jr. angered baseball’s “unwritten rules” police when he belted a grand slam last month, but you can count Pedro Martinez among those who had no problem with the feat.

Tatis hit a grand slam on a 3-0 pitch late in a game in which the Padres had a 10-3 lead over the Texas Rangers. Some people felt swinging in that situation was classless, but Martinez emphatically defended Tatis when asked about it on Monday.

Pedro Martínez is the man. He was just on MLB Network talking about Fernando Tatis Jr. and the 3-0 grand slam kerfuffle. This is what Pedro had to say: pic.twitter.com/rSJ3CCz21u

— Andrew Simon (@AndrewSimonMLB) September 8, 2020

Rangers manager Chris Woodward felt Tatis crossed the line by swinging. Others, like Martinez, defended the Padres slugger. Los Angeles Dodgers manager Dave Roberts had no problem with it.

Late rallies are not uncommon in baseball, and we doubt the Rangers would have been willing to concede the game when they were trailing 10-3. Tatis swinging at a 3-0 pitch was a lot different from doing something like bunting to break up a no-hitter when trailing 10-0. We’re with Pedro and all the others who have defended Tatis.

This article first appeared on Larry Brown Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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