The San Diego Padres' two stars discussed the ultimate at-bat that didn't quite happen in the WBC semifinals.
San Diego Padres manager Craig Stammen said the other day that he didn’t want to see outfielder Fernando Tatis Jr. step into the box against reliever Mason Miller in that memorable WBC semifinal with the game on the line, but Stammen was probably one of the few people in the baseball universe with that take on the situation.
The WBC was created with exactly those kinds of confrontations in mind, and now that Miller and Tatis are back in camp they discussed the “what might have been" version of that at-bat in a fun piece from AJ Cassavell of MLB.com.
“We both wanted it,” Tatis said. “We know the caliber of each other. It was going to be a battle, man. It was going to be a really fun battle.”
That’s not quite true, though. Miller’s take was basically a complete 180, which is understandable given the issues he was having throwing strikes and getting his slider over.
“You see Tati standing on deck, knowing what he can do, knowing the tournament he was having -- yeah, I'm definitely grateful I didn't have to get him,” Miller said.
The two players met on the back fields of Padres camp in Peoria yesterday, and Miller offered a comment about how he’d have started the at-bat.
“Just protect that first pitch,” he said. “I like my chances past the first pitch. But when you've got to come in the zone to him, he's always dangerous.”
Tatis, however, knew exactly what he would have wanted, and his response wasn’t surprising in the least.
“He was going to give me a fastball,” Tatis said, then smiled. “I hope.”
Miller then hesitated, then mouthed the word “slider,” according to Cassavell, which would have been interesting given the wild-pitch possibilities that were in play.
The quote battle continued, and it got more playful with each successive comment, starting with what Tatis might have been looking for had it happened.
“I'm not saying,” Tatis grinned. “Just in case [we face each other] in three more years. Three more years is around the corner. I can't throw it out there.”
Miller then summed up his approach with a caveat about that first-pitch slider, which is far more likely when he’s ramped up for real and has better command.
“Mind games,” he said.
If something like this does happen the next time around, let’s hope the WBC gets fixed. Start with the addition of the ABS challenge system so games don’t end the way the Team USA win did, then fix the format somehow to create a level playing field for both pitchers and hitters.