Fernando Tatis on Dodgers Fans: Wish They Could Control Emotions a Little More
Today at 01:29 PM
The Los Angeles Dodgers’ biggest rival for the past several decades has been the San Francisco Giants. Those days might be gone with the San Diego Padres taking the crown.
In a heated Game 2 of the National League Division Series, marked by intense interactions between Padres outfielders Jurickson Profar and Fernando Tatis Jr. and unruly Dodgers fans in the pavilion seats, the Padres escalated the series’ intensity.
The result was chaotic but the Padres managed to match a postseason record by hitting six home runs, securing a blowout 10-2 win over the Dodgers to even the series on Sunday night.
The series took a day off on Monday but the sights and sounds from the hostile Dodger Stadium crowd on Sunday are still fresh.
"Dodger fans, they were just not happy," Tatis said. "They're losing the game, obviously, and just a lot of back and forth. What can I say? I wish they could control it a little bit more their emotions. But at the end of the day, I see this as part of a game."
The right fielder added insult to injury when he was interviewed on the field after the game.
"It's a show. It's MLB: The Show," Tatis said on the field immediately after the game. "We were giving them a show."
The crowd’s actions were embarrassing and the Dodger players want it to be known that they shouldn’t have crossed the line by throwing items onto the field.
"Look, the first thing is it's unacceptable to be throwing stuff on the field. That's the first thing. That's really all there is to say about it," Dodgers infielder Max Muncy said. "There was other stuff involved but you just can't throw stuff on the field like that. It's frustrating. We understand fans are frustrated with us and this game. But you just can't be throwing stuff on the field."
Tensions flared as the Dodgers prepared to bat in the bottom of the seventh inning when a ball was thrown from the left field pavilion toward Jurickson Profar, who had been taunting fans after robbing Mookie Betts of a home run in the first inning. Profar reacted angrily, prompting the umpiring crew to gather in shallow left field, where Padres manager Mike Shildt gestured toward the fans in frustration.
"A hostile environment," Shildt said. "What I got out of it was a bunch of dudes that showed up in front of a big, hostile crowd with stuff being thrown at them and said, 'We're going to talk with our play. We're not going to back down. We're going to elevate our game. We're going to be together and we're going to take care of business.'"
Photo Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images
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