Fernando Tatis Jr. reveals 'peaceful' offseason regimen as Padres look to improve on 2024 playoff run

Fernando Tatis Jr. and the San Diego Padres had an impressive playoff run as they pushed the eventual champions to the brink, but now they're aiming to do even better in 2025. To do that, they've had to stay ready during the offseason.

Baseball players often work out rigorously during the offseason to stay in shape so Spring Training is about the baseball side of things and not about getting their bodies ready, but Tatis Jr. took a different approach this time.

Tatis Jr. said:

"This offseason, I really laid back a little bit more. It's like my body is already built up, so it's not like I need to go full load. This offseason was more about just swimming, being in the ocean, just being in good environments that it's just peaceful."

The slugging outfielder didn't do a lot of strength training but rather focused on keeping his mental health strong and ensuring his functional strength was good by swimming.

He wanted to stay strong physically and mentally, so he found an activity that worked to achieve both of those goals and allowed him to actually enjoy his time off of baseball.

The Padres fell in five games to the Los Angeles Dodgers last year. The Dodgers went on to defeat the New York Mets and New York Yankees to capture the title.

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Fernando Tatis Jr. discusses struggles in hitting

Hitting is often called the most difficult thing to do in sports. A pitch is traveling, and more often than not moving in unique ways, at a hitter at about 95 miles per hour, taking less than half a second to reach the plate. The hitter has that much time to read the pitch and take a swing.

Fernando Tatis Jr. opened up on how hard it is to hit (Imagn)

Fernando Tatis Jr., as an MLB player, is better at that skill than the vast majority of people, but even he knows it's a tough challenge that can sometimes stump even the best.

Via the San Diego Union-Tribune, he said:

“Sometimes it’s the mechanics, sometimes it’s the approach, sometimes it’s a pitcher doing a great job and you think otherwise. So it’s a really good mix of getting to know yourself, of getting to know the situation that’s going on, seeing the game, also reacting to the game.

"There’s so much stuff that it can trigger that it’s like playing chess, but like with 10 boards at the same time.”

Last season, Tatis hit .276 on the year. He has a career batting average of .279, so that was right in line with his usual production.