Biography:

Career Highlights:

1993 - Spent his first professional season with San Cristobal in the Dominican Summer League.

1994 - (Gulf Coast League) Topped league third basemen in fielding average (.925), games (59), total chances (227) and assists (165)...led entire organization with 83.3 percent success rate on the bases (20-for-24).

1995 - Was the Rangers' Minor League Player of the Year, leading the South Atlantic League in doubles (43) and tying for first in hits (151) at Class-A Charlotte. Selected as the Rangers' Minor League Player of the Month in June (.339 AVG, 4 HR, 21 RBIs) and August (.412 AVG, 22 RBIs). Was the South Atlantic League's Player of the Week, 4/30-5/6 and 8/14-20. Led league third basemen in putouts (98). Hit safely in 18 straight games, 8/4-21.

1996 - Baseball America ranked him the # 2 prospect in the Texas organization. Broke hamate bone in his left wrist on 3/14 in spring training and had surgery on 3/21...was activated on 5/20 and spent rest of season at Class-A Charlotte. Was second on team in homers (12), despite playing in only 85 games. Had a 13-game hitting hitting streak. Was promoted to Class-AAA Oklahoma City on 9/1. Had pinch-double in first AAA at-bat. Played for Escogido in Dominican Winter League, batting .206 in 15 games.

1997 - After becoming first two-time winner of Rangers Minor League Player of the Year award, was promoted from Double-A Tulsa to Texas on 7/26 and started 60 of the Rangers final 61 games at third base... his only non-start after promotion was 9/9 at DET... finished seventh among AL rookies in both RBI (29) and homers (tied, 8)... singled in his first Major League at-bat on 7/26 at CWS and hit first home run the following night at Comiskey off Danny Darwin... batted .167 (7-for-42) in his first 12 games before producing at a .325 (27-for-83) clip in his next 23 games... dropped off to .156 (10-for-64) in the following 17 contests... hit safely in eight straight games to end the season, going 13-for-34 (.382) in those contests... was 4-for-5 with four RBI on 8/12 at BOS... homered twice off Bob Tewksbury on 9/13 vs. MIN, his first career multi-homer game... scored career-high three runs on two occasions, 8/12 at BOS and 8/22 vs. CWS... was most productive hitting seventh in the order, going 22-for-75 (.293) with three homers and 12 RBI... was 9-for-18 with eight RBI vs. BOS, including 6-for-12 with four doubles and six RBI in three-game series at Fenway 8/11-13... named as third baseman on Texas League postseason All-Star team... placed second in the league in homers (24), two behind teammate Dan Collier, despite playing only four months at Tulsa... led the Drillers in stolen bases (17) and finished third in runs (73)... finished second in batting (300 or more plate appearances) among all Texas Minor Leaguers at .3141, just behind Charlotte's Ruben Mateo (.3143), and third in homers... named Rangers Minor League Player of the Month for April after batting .373 (31-for-83) with six homers and 15 RBI... dipped to .217 (25-for-115) in May before rebounding in his final 49 games, batting .348 (64-for-184) over that stretch... earned Texas League Player of the Week honors three times, 4/3 to 4/13, 6/16 to 6/22 and 7/14 to 7/20... started at third base in the Double-A All-Star Game... had a three-homer, six-RBI performance on 6/19 vs. Shreveport... played for Escogido in the DWL, batting .230 with four homers and 19 RBI in 41 games... played for the Dominican Republic in the Caribbean Series in February.

1998 - Split the season between Texas and St. Louis... combined to post a .276 batting average, with 11 home runs and 58 RBI... joined the Cardinals for the last two months of the season, hitting .287 with eight homers and 26 RBI... despite his late arrival, wound up seventh on the team in homers and tied for third with two triples... victimized right-handers for each of his 11 homers in '98, yet batted .287 vs. lefties compared with .272 vs. righties... had a 10-game hitting streak (16-for-39) with the Rangers from 7/17 to 7/29... notched back-to-back three-hit games 8/7 and 8/8 vs. CHI... hit his first Cardinals home run on 8/11 vs. NY... had a career-high five hits 8/23 at PIT, including his third Cardinals HR... the five hits matched the Cardinals 1998 individual high... hit safely in eight straight at-bats 8/22 to 8/24 at PIT... smacked a game-tying, ninth-inning solo homer 8/28 vs. ATL, setting up the Cards 5-4 win in 10 innings... homered in the 9/27 season finale vs. MON.

1999 - In his first full season in St. Louis, posted one of the finest campaigns ever by a Cardinals third baseman. His 34 home runs broke Ken Boyer's 1960 club record of 32 homers by a third baseman... led the Club in batting average (.298) and finished second in HR, RBI (107), runs scored (104), stolen bases (21) and walks (82)... became just the fourth player (first infielder) in Cardinals history to hit at least 20 home runs and steal at least 20 bases in the same season... became the first player in Major League history to hit two grand slams in one inning, doing so off Chan Ho Park in the 3rd inning of the Cards 12-5 win at LA on 4/23. Also became the first Cardinal to hit two home runs in the same frame, while establishing a Major League record with eight RBI in an inning... tied the Club record of three grand slams in one season (Jim Bottomley, 1925, and Keith Hernandez, 1977)... was hit by pitch 16 times, tying him for second in the National League. His 16 HBP were the most by a Cardinal since Solly Hemus was plunked 20 times in 1952... had four multi-homer games, 44 multi-hit games and 21 multi-RBI contests. His eight game-winning RBI ranked third on the Club... his 12 infield hits were second on the team, as were his 32 two-out RBI... was 21-for-30 in stolen base attempts, including 4-for-4 in third base attempts... posted a .331 (49-for-148) batting average with runners in scoring position, including a league-leading .692 (9-for-13) mark with the bases loaded... batted .301 vs. right-handers and .290 vs. left-handers; hit .309 at night and .274 in the daylight... compiled a .321 batting average on the road and a .274 mark at Busch Stadium; batted .353 on artificial turf and .285 on grass... committed 11 fewer errors in 1999 (16) than in 1998 (27), and his .958 fielding percentage ranked sixth among NL third-sackers. Had just four miscues after the All-Star break and was errorless in 31-straight games from 7/27 to 8/30... hit seven homers in each of the months of April, May, June and September... batted over .400 against KC (.462), MIN (.455) and CHI (.415). Hit five home runs against LA and MIL... homered in each of the first three games of the season (4/5 through 4/8)... put together a team-best seven-game RBI streak 4/20 to 4/28... compiled a career-high 11-game hitting streak 5/26 to 6/5. Had exactly one hit in each of the first 10 games of the streak before collecting two hits in the final game. Went 12-for-39 (.308) during the streak... belted a pair of two-run homers 7/22 at CIN, including a ninth-inning game-winner... reached base all five plate appearances 7/31 at COL, going 3-for-3 with a home run, three RBI and two walks... collected a season-high four hits, including two doubles, in an 8/15 win vs. CHI... blasted his third grand slam of the season 8/9 at PHI (off Billy Brewer)... posted his fourth multi-homer game 9/26 at CIN.

2000 - Tatis was able to provide solid defense and power production in 2000 with the Cardinals after struggling to overcome a strained left groin that sidelined him for much of the season's first half...Finished the year with 18 HRs and 64 RBI in just 96 games... Returned to the lineup on June 30 after missing 54 games due to the injury he sustained on April 29 at Philadelphia...Had a terrific start, hitting safely in 18 of his first 21 games and in 28 of his first 34 played, including a career-best 13-game hitting streak ended by the injury...Hit .404 with 5 HR and 17 RBI during the hitting streak...Was leading the league with 28 RBI at the time...Defensively, made just eight errors on the season, five over his last 71 games...Drew his first career appearance at first base on July 29 at New York when he made the start...Did not play in the Division Series against Atlanta but played in all five games of the Championship Series against the Mets, going 3-for-15 (.231) with two doubles, two RBI and two errors. Tatis went 1-for-4 with an RBI single Opening Day vs Chicago; also stole two bases and drew a walk...Had a nine-game RBI streak April 13-23 in which he totaled 15 RBI...Was named USA Today's Impact Player of the Week for April 17-23...Had a trio of 4-RBI games on April 6 vs Chicago, April 8 vs Milwaukee and April 20 vs San Diego...Went 3-for-4 with a HR (#3) on April 19 vs Padres...Smacked go-ahead three-run HR (#7) on July 1 vs Houston and walked twice...Had 6th career 2-HR game July 13 at Comiskey Park...Hit 3 HR & was hit by pitch three times in July 13-15 White Sox series...Collected his 4th career grand slam July 25 vs Dennis Springer of Arizona... Had three hits on August 10 vs Colorado including a game-tying HR (#15) in the 8th...Hit safely in 6-straight games, September 8-13 and was 3-for-5 with HR #16 & 2 RBIs on September 12 at Pittsburgh...Hit two HR in consecutive innings (2nd and 3rd) on September 16 vs Cubs, including his 5th career grand slam off Daniel Garibay...It was his 7th career multi-HR game (2nd of the year)...Also added season-best 5 RBI...His batting average dropped from .274 to season-ending .253 after he went just 3-for-36 (.083) over his final 10 starts.

2001 - Tatis had a disappointing year in 2001, his first season with the Expos after being acquired from St. Louis in an off-season trade... With hopes of filling the void at third base while providing a strong bat in the lineup, he battled injury throughout the early-going, until being sidelined for the rest of the year with a leg injury... Played in a total of 41 games during the season, hitting .255, adding two home runs, 11 RBI and 20 runs scored... Was sidelined on the 15-day disabled list May 11-25 with a right shoulder strain missing 14 days and 13 games...Returned to the injured list serving time on the 60-day DL June 3 through the end of the season, recovering from surgery on his left patellar tendon... In total, he missed 135 days and 121 games due to injury. Picked up his first hit with the Expos on Opening Day, April 2 @ Wrigley Field... Went 3-for-5 with a run scored in the Expos' 5-4 win over the Cubs in 10 innings... Picked up three hits in a 5-2 home victory over the Mets, going 3-for-5 with two doubles, an RBI and a run scored... Would collect a total of seven multi-hit games (five two-hit, two three-hit)... Hit his first homer of the year April 20 @ Florida, hitting a solo shot on the first pitch against Jason Grilli in the seventh inning of a 5-1 loss to the Marlins... Would hit his second and final homer of the season April 26 @ St. Louis... Homered off the Cardinals' Rick Ankiel with the second of back-to-back HR in the third inning April 26 at Busch Stadium... Homered with Jose Vidro, en route to a 4-3 Expos' victory in 15 innings... Hit his 100th career double May 3 off Arizona's Randy Johnson in the seventh inning... The Expos fell 2-1 to the Diamondbacks at Olympic Stadium... Underwent surgery on his left patellar tendon (knee) August 7 in New York performed by Dr. Norman Scott to repair cartilage in his knee... Remained in a hard cast for three weeks, prior to getting his stitches removed by Dr. Larry Coughlin... Then the hard cast was reset for three more weeks before beginning a rehabilitation program in Florida.

2002 - After missing most of the first month of the season due to injury, Tatis returned to the Expos to play a total of 114 games, batting .228... Hit 15 HR and added 55 RBI, while scoring 43 runs... Had 13 errors at third base... Picked up an 11-game hitting streak during the season, falling two games short of his career high... Was placed on the 15-day disabled list March 22 with left knee patellar tendinitis... Spent the first month of the season on an injury rehabilitation assignment, working out at the Expos' spring training facility before joining the A-Brevard County Manatees for six games... Was recalled from his injury rehabilitation assignment and activated from the 15-day DL April 29... Played his first game with the Expos April 30 at Houston, going 0-for-4 while starting at third base... Missed a total of 25 games and 38 days while absent from the Expos. His two hits May 1 at Houston marked his first hits since playing his last game of the 2001 season, June 2 versus Philadelphia... The game also marked his first multi-hit contest since May 27, 2001, when he had a pair of hits at Philadelphia... Had three hits in the Expos' 6-5 loss at Arizona May 4, picking up a double, HR, RBI and two runs... Marked his first three-hit game since April 8, 2001... His solo shot off ARI's Mike Myers in the eighth inning was his first homer since his second of two HR in the 2001 season (April 26), while marking the second-longest HR ever hit at Bank One Ballpark (468 feet)... Played his first home game of the year May 7 against Colorado... It was his first game back at Olympic Stadium since his final game of the 2001 season (June 2 vs PHI)... Belted his first HR at Olympic Stadium as an Expo May 10 vs SF's Livan Hernandez, while stealing his first base as an Expo May 16 at Los Angeles... A total of 10 of his 15 homers came with the bases empty... Also added a pair of two- and three-run homers, while collecting a grand slam (July 2 @ ATL)... Hit in 11 straight games June 23-July 4... Went 16-for-42 (.381), picking up four 2B, one 3B, four HR, 12 RBI and 10 runs... Fell two games short of matching his career-high 13-game hitting streak, set April 12-28, 2000... Also hit safely in eight straight games May 24-June 1, batting .313 with two HR, three RBI and five runs, touching home plate in five of the eight games... Served as DH in four Interleague games June 7-10... Was the DH for all three games at Chicago's Comiskey Park June 7-9, while playing as DH June 10 at Detroit's Comerica Park... Went 2-for-15 as DH, adding two doubles, one RBI and one run... Collected five RBI June 15 in a 9-3 home win over the Toronto Blue Jays... Marked his most RBI in one game since picking up five RBI with the St. Louis Cardinals against the Chicago Cubs September 16, 2000 (2-for-4, 2 HR, 5 RBI)... Hit a solo HR off KC's Roberto Hernandez June 20 at Olympic Stadium to tie the game 4-4 in the ninth inning... The Expos went on to win 5-4 in 11 innings... Also belted a solo HR off TOR's Roy Halladay June 28 at SkyDome to give Montreal a 2-1 lead in the seventh inning... The Expos held on to win by the same 2-1 score... Hit his first grand slam as an Expo July 2 at Turner Field, clearing the fences and the bases against ATL's Damian Moss... Was his sixth career grand slam and his first since September 16, 2000... The shot also marked the first grand slam allowed by the Braves since August 5, 2001... Combined with Andres Galarraga for back-to-back solo shots in the seventh inning at Veterans Stadium August 27... Hit the second of the two shots off PHI's Joe Roa... Was his first homer since July 28 versus Florida.

Personal:

Fernando and wife Maria have two sons, Fernando Jr. and Joshua... Was reunited with his father, Fernando Sr., after a 17-year separation on September 12, 1997... Name is pronounced ta-TEES.

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