Fernando Tatís Jr. has taken a lot of heat, even from his own San Diego Padres teammates, after he was suspended 80 games for testing positive for a performance-enhancing substance Friday, but his father has come to his son's defense.
Fernando Tatís Sr. is a former veteran of 11 Major League Baseball seasons, and he spoke with MLB Insider Héctor Gómez to defend his son's reasoning for taking the anabolic steroid Clostebol -- Tatís Jr. said he used the PED to treat ringworm but has been called a liar by fans and media.
"What involves him (Tatís Jr.) is a steroid that contains a spray called trofobol," Tatís Sr. said, as transcribed by Gómez on Monday. "He got a fungus due to a haircut. His mistake was not reading what it contains, which is what apparently makes him guilty of something totally unknown."
Boston Red Sox manager Alex Cora took a nuanced approach when speaking on Tatís Jr.'s suspension and hoped the 23-year-old All-Star can learn from his mistake. Tatís Sr. continued his defense of his son.
"It was a mistake that could have been handled differently, destroy the image of a player for such a small thing, for a situation like this," Tatís Sr. said. "It's a catastrophe not just for Tatís Jr., but for all baseball. There's millions of fans that will stop watching baseball.
"All of this has happened because of something that is not worth this issue. This is something for the skin, that’s something that's not performance enhancing and has no testosterone. It has nothing to help you improve in the game."
Whether fans or MLB players believe the story is up to them, but it's likely Tatís Jr. won't live this suspension down for the rest of his major-league career.
