Jonathan Papelbon went scorched Earth on Fernando Tatis Jr. -- suspended 80 games by MLB for a positive PED test -- saying if he was still pitching in the Majors, he'd drill the Padres star every chance he got!
The former Red Sox star closer shared his feelings on Tatis' blockbuster suspension on the "The Bradfo Sho podcast" ... and he didn't mince his words.
"I'll tell you right now, if I was pitching, every single time I face that dude, I’m drilling him," Papelbon said, adding ... "I don’t care if I'm bringing in a run and losing the game."
"This whole Tatis stuff, man, it almost enrages me. "I worked my ass off so long and so hard and did it the right way. For me, to see something like that, it hurts me so bad."
Papelbon -- who played 12 seasons in the big leagues -- said the problem with Major League Baseball now is players aren't allowed to "police" the game the way they used to when he toed the mound.
"That's the problem with the game today now, is it's changed," Papelbon said. "You throw [at] people now, and you get suspended and all the other BS, and it's like just let the players police the game."
"That's what I miss about the game now is, you look in the past, and the players were the ones who policed the game. Not the damn umpires or the coaches, or any of them. It was the players."
"[And] that's what the game lost," he added.
As we previously reported, 23-year-old Tatis was hit with an 80-game suspension Friday after testing positive for Clostebol, a performance-enhancing substance.
Former NY Yankees slugger Alex Rodriguez expressed disappointment with Tatis ... saying the PED suspension may cost him a shot at the Hall of Fame down the road, something A-Rod, unfortunately, is experiencing.
"I'm not going to go to the Hall of Fame probably because of my own mistake," A-Rod said. "And, that's heartbreaking for me. It's heartbreaking to explain that to my daughters. But, that's on me."
"I wish that a lot of these young players who I admire so much would learn from my stupidity and my debacle."
A-Rod says he wishes young players like Tatis would learn from his stupidity pic.twitter.com/4AHz98Ifr0
— Talkin’ Baseball (@TalkinBaseball_) August 15, 2022
Fernando Tatis Sr. came to his son's defense yesterday ... claiming Tatis Jr. developed a fungus on his skin after receiving a bad haircut and used the banned medication to fix the issue.
Ultimately, JP understands why ex-MLBers, and potentially Tatis' fellow Padres teammates, are upset with his alleged actions ... and Jonathan thinks the distraction could prevent the team from reaching their full potential come playoff time.
"I think his teammates are pissed off," Papelbon added. "Because, number 1, they gotta answer questions about it instead of focusing on what really matters. In my opinion, if this continues, the Padres are just gonna fall by the wayside."