Fernando Tatis Trolls National Reporter After Padres’ Game 3 Win

Maren Angus-Coombs | Oct 9, 2024

Denis Poroy-Imagn Images

The San Diego Padres are embracing their identity as the team fans either love or love to hate and during a 6-5 win over the Los Angeles Dodgers on Tuesday night, one more thing was apparent.

Ken Rosenthal was unwelcome in their dugout.

The Athletic published a piece written by the sideline reporter on Tuesday that described three of the Padres key players as the following:

"Machado is far from the Padres’ only irritant. Fernando Tatis Jr. is a smiling, dancing peacock. Jurickson Profar is the kid who pulls the fire alarm at school and then asks, 'Who, me?'”

That paragraph led to an epic troll job from Tatis after San Diego took a 2-1 series lead when he posted a photo of himself from the game on his Instagram account with two emojis – a peacock and a man dancing.

Tatis put dancing peacock emojis on his story LMAOOOOOOO https://t.co/7CEMZBXVb4 pic.twitter.com/Ks0SdZZWMK

— Addison (@YankeeWRLD) October 9, 2024

Rosenthal hasn't held back from his criticism of the Padres but has also praised them, specifically Machado. During Game 2, Rosenthal described the emotional meeting in the dugout with Machado stepping up as the team's leader. Something he hasn't been known for in the past.

Read more: What Did Manny Machado Say in Padres' Team Meeting That Sealed Game 2 Win Over Dodgers?

“Manny Machado has taken a lot of criticism in his career,” Rosenthal said. “For being too laid-back. For occasionally playing dirty. For being the kind of player you don’t want to build around. Well, what we saw in that dugout tonight, in that meeting, that was the most visible and powerful act of leadership in his career. He’s 32 now. Clearly a different guy.”

He then ripped Machado to shreds after video surfaced of the third baseman throwing a baseball toward Dave Roberts. Calling it "inappropriate, and not particularly smart."

In a way, Tatis' troll job was his way of also defending his teammate.

Rosenthal continued to write about Machado's emotional maturity but his ability to revert to the player labeled a "villain."

Six years ago, Rosenthal said this about Machado: “If he wants the noise to stop, he needs to give people less reason to question him. If he wants true appreciation for his greatness, he should create attention only with his performance.”

According to the reporter, those words still ring true but he has matured in some ways.

"All that constitutes progress, even if the initial bar was low," he wrote. "The team meeting in the dugout offered further testament that Machado is the emotional center of the team. But the Sinister Sling demonstrated again that Machado remains all too eager to play the villain."