Eternity of the Moment

Andy Heckroth on how Fernando Tatis will forever be remembered for his two grandslams in April of 1999

By Andy Heckroth

VIN SCULLY DID NOT need to check the record books. Neither did Mike Shannon. Both broadcasters knew what they saw on April 23, 1999, was never done before (or since) in Major League Baseball History. 

"I think that's what every baseball player is looking for – to be famous, to be in the Hall of Fame. You just want your name to get bigger and bigger every year. I think my name is going to be like you say, famous." - Fernando Tatis, two days after his two-grand slam game, from the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. 

AS UNBELIEVABLE AS IT SOUNDS, two grand slams had been hit in one inning before Fernando Tatis. As the late Rick Hummel pointed out, Jimmy Wynn and Denis Menke of the 1969 Houston Astros each hit one grand slam in the same inning. In the context of St. Louis Cardinals history, two Cardinals, Jim Bottomley and Chick Hafey, hit grand slams in the same game in 1929. 

However, no one player has hit two grand slams in the same inning off the same pitcher. That was what Fernando Tatis accomplished on that historic April night at Chavez Ravine in 1999. 

Baseball has a unique history full of different stories and records. Every season produces an accomplishment for a specific player, such as a call-up, no-hitter, or multi-home run game. No two baseball games can ever be exact in the literal sense of the word. Baseball players who make it to the Major Leagues work to stay in the Major Leagues. Sometimes, events during a ballgame leave an indelible mark on the individual and the team. 

This was the case of Fernando Tatis, a player who wanted to achieve something his father could not: make an MLB roster. As Tatis put it, his father, also named Fernando, "could have made it to the majors, but he was unlucky." According to his player biography from the Society for American Baseball Research, the Tatis patriarch suffered a shoulder injury that hindered his playing ability. Despite reaching the Houston Astros' Triple-A affiliate, he never made the Major Leagues due to the injury. 

The younger Tatis was determined to make his mark in Major League Baseball. Growing up in San Pedro de Macorís in the Dominican Republic, Tatis watched fellow Dominican baseball players Alfredo Griffin, George Bell, Pedro Guerrero, and Tony Fernández perform at the highest level of baseball competition. To emulate those greats, Tatis created hand-made sewn baseballs from torn blankets at a young age, starting his trail from Dominican prospect to Texas Rangers farmhand and then finally to Major League Baseball with the Rangers in 1997.

Tatis arrived in St. Louis during the second half of the 1998 season, as the Rangers sent him and Darren Oliver in exchange for Royce Clayton and Todd Stottlemyre. Over 55 games in St. Louis in ‘98, Tatis slugged 8 home runs, including a monstrous shot in the last game of the season. “How exciting is his future in a Cardinal uniform?” Joe Buck mused as Tatis rounded the bases.

The 1999 season began with Tatis living up to those expectations.  In the season’s first 14 games, he belted 4 home runs and drove in 11 RBIs – a pace if played out over the season would lead to 46 home runs and 128 RBIs. 

Humans explore ideas or skills to make their mark, or niche, in the world. We develop specific talents or traits that allow us to succeed in our endeavors. As we mature over the years, breakthroughs happen when we get our chance, our "moment," if you will, such as a job offer or landing the lead in a high school musical. However, what makes "the moment" so special is the intricate movements that precede what happens. 

Think about third-base coach Rene Lachemann. Lachemann stopped pitcher José Jiménez at third on Edgar Renteria's RBI single. The bases were loaded with Jiménez now at third, but not for Tatis. 

Mark McGwire had his chance to enter St. Louis Cardinals history himself. After all, he had hit a then-Major League record 70 home runs the previous season. On a 1-and-2 pitch, McGwire flew out to Los Angeles right fielder Raúl Mondesi for the second out of the inning. 

Let us also remember Dodgers pitcher Chan Ho Park. Park, who surrendered Tatis' first grand slam earlier that inning, was determined not only to end what was already a miserable 7-run inning for the Dodgers. Tatis and Park dueled to a 3-and-2 count. Park, who surrendered the first grand slam on an inside fastball, threw a curveball on a full count. The pitch got enough of the plate for Tatis to barrel the ball to deep left-center field for history. 

After the game via the Los Angeles Times, Tony La Russa stated: "I don't care if you're a fan or sitting in the dugout or whatever. What have they got? 100 years of baseball, and this is the first time it's ever been done? Wow." 

TATIS HIT 113 home runs in his 11-year MLB career, but he made his mark with his two specific round-trippers for the rest of his career. Twenty years after the game, Tatis told Jim Hayes that he still watches his two grand slams at Dodger Stadium. It was something Tatis could say he had accomplished. His son, Fernando Tatis Jr., has honored his father by wearing custom cleats that show the St. Louis Post-Dispatch headlines of his father's historic day in 1999:

“Ain’t Tatis Grand!”

Andy Heckroth is a freelance writer based in South Bend, Indiana. He contributes to FanSided's Redbird Rants and the Society for American Baseball Research Games Project. His work can be found here.