Padres star Fernando Tatis Jr. does full split to stay on base after steal vs. Rockies

It's safe to say that baseball has missed Fernando Tatis Jr. the past 10 days, and it didn't take long for him to remind us why.

He just makes the game fun – even when he doesn't mean to.

Tatis was back in the San Diego Padres' lineup on Wednesday for the first time since May 9 after he tested positive for COVID-19. In his first plate appearance back against the Rockies, Tatis reached on a single to center to start off the second inning. And with Eric Hosmer at the plate, Tatis looked to get aggressive on the basepath.

He also showed off his flexibility with one of the more astonishing over-slide recoveries you'll see on a stolen base.

F L E X I B L E pic.twitter.com/EnhNAyQ55Q

As Tatis took off into second, the momentum from his feet-first slide took him beyond the bag. But somehow, Tatis managed to hold the bag while basically breaking out a full split to keep his foot on second.

I guess we know who stretched before the game.

Fernando Tatis Jr. status: BACK

And doing the splits!! pic.twitter.com/UhwQqiP0LA

But really, flexibility aside, just being able to hold the bag there was impressive. You can see how Trevor Story was ready to apply the tag on Tatis if he came off.

San Diego Padres shortstop Fernando Tatis Jr. steals second base during the second inning against the Colorado Rockies. (Photo: Orlando Ramirez, USA TODAY Sports)

Despite that objectively fun effort, the Padres would be unable to score Tatis as he'd get stranded on third. He took matters into his own hands in the fourth inning, launching a solo home run to give the Padres a 1-0 lead.  

El Niño is back! pic.twitter.com/hH3v6UnChL

Welcome back. Baseball definitely missed this energy.

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