The upcoming WBC will be a battle of star-studded international teams, and San Diego Padres’ outfielder Fernando Tatis Jr. is one of the biggest stars. He’ll lead the Dominican Republic into the tournament starting later this week, but before he left, Tatis made some bold comments about his preparation and how he expects to fare in the tournament.
“It’s what I’m built for,” Tatis said Friday, shortly before he left Padres camp to join the Dominican Republic ahead of the WBC in a piece written by AJ Cassavell of MLB.com.
Surprisingly, Tatis doesn’t know this for sure yet. He didn’t play in the last WBC in 2023 because he was still serving his PED suspension, which left him ineligible to compete, and of course the 2021 edition was cancelled due to Covid.
That combination has only sharpened Tatis’s sense of anticipation as he prepares to fulfill a lifetime dream.
“It’s a dream come true,” Tatis said. “It’s what I wanted as a kid. Being able to do it now, at this stage of my life and my career, it’s a special moment.”
Tatis posted a video of his arrival this weekend at his locker, which was full of “Tatis 23” jerseys in Dominican blue and red. The outfielder was just 14 when the Dominican Republic won its only WBC title in 2013, and he remembers watching every game, according to Cassavell.
“Didn’t lose one,” Tatis said. “That was really sick. Damn. But if there’s a [Dominican Republic] team that can do it again, it’s us right now, being able to match that performance.”
The talent is certainly there. Tatis will be joined by teammate Manny Machado and former teammate Juan Soto. The lineup also includes the likes of Vladimir Guerrero Jr., Ketel Marte, Junior Caminero and Julio Rodriguez, while the rotations features Cristopher Sanchez and Sandy Alcantara.
But Team USA and Samurai Japan are also loaded, with the latter coming in as the defending champions. That doesn’t phase Tatis, whose confidence borders on cockiness this time around.
“They’re nasty,” Tatis said when he was asked about facing Japan. “But we’re gonna beat them. We’ve done it before. But doing it [at the WBC] is pretty awesome. It’s going to be a beautiful experience.”
Like many of the players competing for their respective homelands, the WBC is about family connections as well. Tatis has played for Estrellas Orientales teams managed by his father in winter ball, and he knows full well that Fernando Tatis Sr. played for the Dominican Republic in the 2009 edition of the WBC.
What makes this competition is even more special is that it starts with a pair of exhibition games in Santo Domingo, and Tatis hasn’t played in his home country since the 2023-24 offseason. The games will be played in memory of the victims of the Jet Set nightclub tragedy in that city, and MLB will make a donation to the Dominican Red Cross as part of the event.
“It means the world,” Tatis told reporters last week. “Where I come from, my family, what I’m about, my culture -- I’m really happy and glad I can represent the Dominican Republic. … Man, I’m truly blessed to be from that small island.”