Tatis, Jr. said that if he had a chance to talk to his childhood self (pictured above), he would explain winning a World Series sure would be exciting, but it wouldn’t pay the bills, and that when he was a grown-up, he would understand. Besides, he noted, “it’s possible to have more than one childhood dream. I also hoped that I would play my whole career with the Padres, just like my hero Tony Gwynn, whose poster you can see up there on the wall. He never won a World Series, either.”

Recently, Padres superstar Fernando Tatis, Jr. signed a 14-year, $340 million contract with the San Diego Padres. It was the longest contract ever signed, as well as the third-richest, and the most certain to keep him from ever winning the World Series. “I mean, I’m 22 now,” said Tatis, Jr. after the signing, “so that means I’ll be 36 when I’ve finished serving my time here. If I stay healthy, then technically, I guess it’s possible that some World Series contender will pick me up for use in certain situations, or as a backup for regulars when go on the DL. So who knows? I might still win the Big One some day. But it’s unlikely — though still not as unlikely as winning it here in San Diego. I admit it’s a little dispiriting to think of — I didn’t start playing baseball just to get rich, you know? I always wanted to win. But as I often do in difficult times, I turned to my bible, and found a comforting passage in Paul. ‘When I was a child, I spoke like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put away childish things.’ It’s like it says in that song ‘Puff the Magic Dragon’ - ‘Painted wings and Series rings make way for other toys.’ Toys like the custom Padres Lambo I’m having built to celebrate the signing of this contract.”