Denver photographer featured on new cover of MLB The Show

Many a gamer and sports fan has pictured themselves on the cover of a video game at one time or another, but usually as the heroic athlete.

But one Denver photographer might have just happened upon the next best thing: Having a photograph featured on the cover of a video game — specifically MLB The Show.

The latest iteration of the game, which launches on April 20, will feature San Diego Padres superstar Fernando Tatis Jr. as its cover athlete.

And one of the majestic shots of Tatis happens to be at Coors Field, with Denver’s own Kyle Cooper behind the camera. The image of Tatis saluting the Padres dugout can be seen on the lower-left side of the cover.

According to Cooper — a staff photographer for the Colorado Rockies and game night photo editor for the Colorado Avalanche — the shot comes from the one and only game he photographed last season.

Via his Twitter account Monday, Cooper said:

I shot ONE baseball game in 2020. And when I saw the cover of @MLBTheShow I knew I’d seen that second photo somewhere before! I’ve been playing this game for a long time and to have any kind of photo on the cover is something I never imagined possible! 🙏 #mlbtheshow pic.twitter.com/YPUaWF99xv

— Kyle Cooper (@KyleCoopah) February 1, 2021

The photo comes from the Padres rally in the top of the ninth on July 31, 2020, wherein Tatis tied the game 5-5 with a blast off closer Wade Davis.

Davis would later give up a three-run home run to Tommy Pham later in the inning.

At age 22, Tatis becomes the youngest player ever chosen for the cover of “The Show” since its debut in 2006. He’s also the first member of the Padres to be featured on the cover.

In 2020, Tatis hit the second-most home runs (17) in the National League to lock up All-MLB First Team honors, a Silver Slugger, and fourth place in NL MVP voting.

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