For all the hoopla surrounding Josh Hamilton and his disappearance from baseball for three years, the Fernando Tatis story is pretty amazing as well. Tatis is best known, of course, for hitting two grand slams in one inning off of Chan Ho Park on April 23, 1999. With those two swings he set three records: most grand slams in one inning, most RBIs in one inning and most times the question “Why the heck was the pitcher left in there long enough to give up two grand slams in one inning?” is asked.

Born in San Pedro de Macoris, Dominican Republic, on New Year’s Day 1975, the little man with big ears (which is his Indian name, by the way―Little Man With Big Ears) seemed to be having a run-of-the-mill career in his first seven years in the big leagues. Tatis started out in Texas, making his Major League debut on July 26, 1997. In 1998, he was traded to St. Louis. It was there in ’99 that he made his name with those historic grand slams, and also enjoyed a career year, when he hit .298 with 34 home runs, 107 RBIs and 21 stolen bases. After the 2000 season, he moved on to Montreal, where he played for the Expos for three seasons. Instead of hitting like an All-Star, learning to speak French, becoming a fan favorite and acquiring a cool nickname like Le Grand Orange, he battled injuries and never recovered his 1999 form.

Tatis played his last game for Montreal on June 15, 2003. He was invited to spring training by Tampa Bay the next season but didn’t make the team. After getting cut by the sad-sack Devil Rays, he hit a low point and fell off the face of the earth for the next two years. There’s some dispute over where he was in ’04 and ’05. Some say he was playing in the Mexican League. Others claim they saw him jumping motorcycles in South Dakota. He was spotted working at a Dairy Queen in Fresno. One woman insists she sat next to him all through the winter of ’05/’06 as they worked as copy editors in New York City. He ate a tuna fish sandwich every day for lunch, and they enjoyed gabbing about their stories (General Hospital and Days of Our Lives).

In 2006, Tatis resurfaced with the Baltimore Orioles. He only played 28 games, picking up 56 at bats. The next year he went to spring training with the Dodgers and ultimately caught on with the Mets organization. He spent all of 2007 with the New Orleans Zephyrs and had a nice season (.276, 21 home runs, 67 RBIs). Since being called up by the Mets in May, he’s done nothing but produce (.295, 5 home runs, 22 RBIs in 132 at bats). And it seems like he’s had a game-winning hit every week. He’s also proven he’ll do whatever he can to stay in the Majors. Before this season, he’s only played four games in the outfield his whole career, and now he’s the starting left fielder. And he’s made adjustments at the plate, shortening his swing.

So far, Tatis has been a godsend for the Mets. And with Moises Alou out for the season, and Ryan Church’s status unknown, the team’s going to need him to continue his resurgence. Even if the Mets trade for an outfielder, he still may start the rest of the season. So thank God for Fernando Tatis. Where would the Mets be without him?