And The Show 21 cover athlete is ...
He makes history, too, as the youngest to be chosen
Matt Kelly
@mattkellyMLBAdd yet another impressive bullet point to Fernando Tatis Jr.’s growing superstar resume.
The Padres’ dazzling shortstop was revealed Monday as the cover athlete for Sony’s MLB The Show 21 video game, and he made history in the process. At just 22 years old, Tatis is the youngest player to be chosen for the cover of The Show dating back to when the game debuted in 2006. It’s also a landmark day for Padres fans, as Tatis is the first player to grace the game’s cover in a San Diego uniform.
Tatis is coming off a sensational 2020 season that saw him crush 17 homers in 59 games, capture his first Silver Slugger Award, place fourth in the National League MVP award vote and earn All-MLB First Team honors. The Dominican native was instrumental in leading the Padres to the postseason for the first time in 14 years, and then he became the third-youngest player to hit multiple home runs in a postseason game. Tatis’ 39 career home runs are the most by any primary shortstop within his first 150 career games dating back to 1900.
Tatis follows Cubs fan favorite Javier Báez, the cover athlete for MLB The Show 20, along with a “who’s who” list of contemporary stars that appeared on the game’s cover in years past, including Miguel Cabrera, Josh Donaldson, Adrián González, Ken Griffey, Jr., Bryce Harper, Ryan Howard, Aaron Judge, Joe Mauer, Andrew McCutchen, David Ortiz, Dustin Pedroia, Yasiel Puig and David Wright.