I’m not one to tell other people what they should get tattooed on their bodies, but it’s always a safe strategy to avoid preemptive championship tattoos and autographs. The championship tattoos almost never work out, and players frequently change teams. It’s a dangerous game for something so permanent.
Some Los Angeles Dodgers fan learned that the hard way on Wednesday.
Last week, a video hit Twitter showing a fan at Dodgers spring training camp in Arizona telling Cody Bellinger and Matt Beaty that he would get their autographs tattooed if they signed his arm. He stood by his word and actually got those autographs tattooed.
A fan got Cody Bellinger and Matt Beaty’s autograph tattooed on his arm pic.twitter.com/ndbxHOw8ck
— Ballplayeruniverse (@Ballplayerverse) March 15, 2022
That fan couldn’t even get two weeks out of the tattoo before it backfired.
On Wednesday, the Dodgers announced that they were designating Beaty for assignment in order to make room on the 40-man roster for Hanser Alberto, who just signed a one-year deal. With Beaty already using all his minor-league options, the roster move equates to a straight-up release. That’s all bad news for the Dodgers fan who is stuck with Beaty’s autograph on his arm.
A Dodgers fan got Matt Beaty’s autograph tattooed on his arm last week
Beaty was released by the Dodgers today pic.twitter.com/qY5DV4sfNX
— Jomboy Media (@JomboyMedia) March 23, 2022
Now, Beaty did have a solid year last season and was easily more productive than Bellinger’s abysmal 2021 season. So, he’ll almost definitely land somewhere else in the big leagues. That fan is just going to have an awkward story to tell when people ask him about his tattoo.