SF Giants farmhand not impressed by Fernando Tatís' 'steroid' home run

SF Giants prospect Kade McClure gave up a bomb to Fernando Tatís Jr., and then dropped a bomb of his own on social media.

Fernando Tatís Jr. hit a massive home run off SF Giants pitching prospect Kade McClure in a Triple-A game on Wednesday night. After hitting the blast, Tatís danced around the bases. When NBC Sports San Diego anchor Darnay Tripp clipped the highlight, claiming McClure would be telling folks about that moment for years, in the words of Michael Jordan, McClure took that personally.

Kade McClure will be telling people for years about the time he gave up an absolute nuke to Fernando Tatis Jr. 😳pic.twitter.com/JNOlxN8T3U

— Darnay Tripp (@DarnayTripp) April 6, 2023

Tatís is still serving his 80-game suspension for a positive PED test last season, and is ineligible to play for the San Diego Padres until April 20. But he's allowed to rehab for 15 games before he returns to the major leagues, which is why Tatís suited up for the Triple-A El Paso Chihuahuas.

In the fifth inning, Tatís went deep, and really took his time admiring the home run and running the bases. It's understandable, as this was his first home run in a non-exhibition game since 2021, after he missed all of 2022 with a wrist injury and the suspension. But McClure fired off a pointed quote tweet in response to Tripp after the game.

McClure "corrected" the caption to call Tatis a "cheater...during a steroid suspension." He's not wrong exactly, but it also reads like sour grapes after Tatís hit a ball halfway to Roseville off him.

In a text conversation with Giants Baseball Insider's Marc Delucchi, McClure clarified his comments amidst a vocal reaction on social media from Padres fans.

"Well I'm not entirely shocked, but people don't get my sarcastic nature in real life," McClure said. "I got got, I've given up a few homers in my life. I've lost more sleep over other ones."

The Giants traded right-handed pitcher Gregory Santos to the White Sox this winter. McClure was the 2021 White Sox Pitching Prospect of the Year. Last year, in his first full Triple-A season, he logged a 4.97 ERA in 87 innings pitched with 96 strikeouts and 28 walks. While he's been used as a starter and a reliever, a la Jakob Junis, the 6'7" McClure's four-seam fastball sits 2-3 mph higher when he works out of the pen. He also has an effective, if underused, slider and curveball.

McClure was more appealing than Santos for the Giants because they did not have to add him to the 40-man roster. Given how much the Giants love churning their roster, we could definitely see McClure in San Francisco at some point this season. As long as he stops throwing meatballs like the one to Tatís.

Now, should Tatís be stopping at third base to celebrate a minor league home run? Maybe not, but McClure will probably remember this home run far longer than Tatís does. Plus, he'll be in the major leagues in two weeks.

What else will SF Giants prospect Kade McClure remember? Being Public Enemy No. 1 for Padres fans for a day. But just like Tatis, he'll take them on online any day.