A flashback at Fernando Tatis Jr. and Manny Machado's most memorable homers

It's February 2019. The San Diego Padres are on the brink of ushering in a golden age of baseball in America's Finest City after the bombshell free-agent signing of perennial All-Star third baseman Manny Machado. A month later, a then twenty-year-old top prospect in Fernando Tatis Jr. received news that he'd be the Padres' Opening Day shortstop, creating what would become a franchise-altering duo. 

Seven years later, Machado still man's the hot-corner, playing gold-glove caliber defense night after night. Tatis, in the midst of his prime, patrol's the right side of Petco Park's outfield, where he's become a two-time Rawlings Platinum Glove Award winner.

But most of all, it was the offensive-driven vision that Padres GM A.J. Preller and the late Peter Seidler, who was the club's primary owner and chairman from '20-'23, saw when pairing the cornerstone stars together. 

During Tuesday night's 11-2 route victory over the Milwaukee Brewers, Tatis passed Nate Colbert for sole possession of second place on the Padres' all-time home run list with an opposite-field blast off Brewers lefty Kyle Harrison. It was the 164th of his career. Only Machado, who's slugged 217 of them with San Diego, has more.

"That’s pretty awesome," Tatis said of now placing 1-2 with Machado. "That’s why we came here. That’s why he came here, with that first deal he got, the 10 years. And me also, signing for those 14 years. That’s what we expect to be doing."

In their time as a duo in Brown and Gold, the pair have hit at a combined .272 clip, having mashed 318 homers to go along with 1,149 RBIs and an .830 OPS.

In the Tatis/Machado era, the Friars have clinched four postseason berths ('20, '22, '24-'25) and are in the thick of pursuing a fifth. The numbers not only paint a picture of why the pair have greatly contributed to the Padres' on-field success, but it also illustrates how the game and flare from both brought back a hunger for winning baseball from the Friar Faithful.

"Those guys have carried this franchise for a long time," said Craig Stammen -- once their teammate, now their manager. "Where there was 25,000 fans showing up a night, now there’s 40,000 fans every night. Those two guys are a big part of that."

With both under contract and full no-trade protection through the 2033 season at the least, many more moments, homers, and playoff chases can be expected. For now, let's take a stroll down the corner of Tony and Trevor, and revisit some of Tatis and Machado's most memorable big flies:

The Firsts

Heading into the first week of the 2019 season, Padres fans were clamoring at a potential glimpse at either one of Tatis or Machado's first homer in a San Diego uniform. Granted, these were still the Navy and White iteration of the Friars, but the excitement of a newly signed star in Machado and a highly-touted prospect in Tatis couldn't be contained.

They'd both go onto connect for their first Padres homers in the second series of the Friars' opening homestand versus the Arizona Diamondbacks. Tatis connected first on April 1, lasering his first career homer underneath the first basket of the Western Metal Supply Co. building. Machado followed on April 3, launching his into the balcony seats of the iconic structure.

Manny Takes Kershaw Upper Deck

In Manny Machado's first game against his former team, the Los Angeles Dodgers, the slugger obliterated a 3-2 changeup out of the hand of future Hall-of-Famer Clayton Kershaw, sparking the start of today's modern Padres/Dodgers rivalry. 

The Birth of Slam Diego

So who wants to talk about unwritten rules?

Fernando Tatis Jr.'s first career grand slam against the Texas Rangers in August 2020 was the catalyst for many topics regarding unspoken do's and dont's in today's modern game. The following three days after Tatis' slam, outfielder Wil Myers, Manny Machado, and first baseman Eric Hosmer would all connect for slams of their own against Texas, making the Padres the first team in Major League history to hit a grand slam in four consecutive games.

Wild Card Pandemonium Versus Cardinals/The Bat Flip

The Padres, down 6-2 in Game 2 of the 2020 National League Wild Card Series against the St. Louis Cardinals and facing elimination, were suddenly back — and very much alive — thanks to their stars.

Tatis laced a Giovanny Gallegos breaking ball into the left field seats for a three-run homer. A batter later, Machado rounded the bases after demolishing a 3-2 fastball to tie the contest at six apiece.

After taking a one-run lead, Tatis would add even more electricity to an already absurd ballgame, launching an opposite-field, two-run shot, debuting his signature bat flip celebration. San Diego would win by a final of 11-9, evening the series in the process.  

Machado Meets/Passes Colbert

On September 6, 2024, Manny Machado evened with Nate Colbert's mark of 163 Padres homers to pull within one of a new club record with an upper-tank shot against the San Francisco Giants.

The slugger, who is well on his way to Cooperstown with his resume, launched his 164th Padres homer on September 10 off George Kirby and the Seattle Mariners to become San Diego's all-time home run leader.

Welcome back to October, Niño.

In his first postseason game since 2020, Fernando Tatis Jr. visited the second-deck in left field on the first pitch he saw out of the hand of Braves righty AJ Smith-Shawver in Game 1 of the 2024 National League Wild Card Series, sending the 40,000 plus fans at Petco Park and around San Diego's Gaslamp Quarter into a pure euphoria.

However, his homer off once Dodger, now teammate Walker Buehler in Game 3 of the National League Division series proved that at the time, Tatis was the hottest hitter in that year's postseason, perhaps on the planet.

He finished October hitting .423 with 11 hits, 4 home runs, 7 RBIs, and 8 runs scored.