El Oso Blanco - The White Bear - Evan Gattis

Throwing you a bender because I just thought you should know...

As amazing as the first few days of this baseball season have been, who knew a script for a movie was also being written within the games?

The second game for the Atlanta Braves featured the major league debut of El Oso Blanco (The White Bear) Evan Gattis. As a backup catcher making the team and the Major Leagues for the first time out of spring training, Gattis has laid the groundwork for Hollywood (and Kevin Costner) to jump in and run with his story.

Growing up as a high school star in Texas, Gattis accepted a baseball scholarship to Texas A & M. This is where everything started on a path that should lead anywhere but Atlanta and catching for the Braves. The very thought of playing major college baseball, and possibly failing at it, drove Evan to alcohol and drug dependency. This landed him in rehab before he ever played a game for the Aggies. After 30 days in rehab and another 90 days in an outpatient program, he enrolled in junior college, made the team, injured his knee and vowed to quit baseball forever.

Now with baseball out of the way and having dropped out of school, Evan headed off to find the meaning of life. He consulted spiritual advisors, took odd jobs and bounced around the West for a while. He operated ski lifts for a bit, cooked and cleaned in a hostel, then ended up as a janitor. By 2010, he had bounced back to Texas and enrolled in the University of Texas in the Permian Basin, not exactly the hotbed for baseball. However, he discovered he had eligibility remaining so joined the baseball team and hit over .400 for the year. This resulted in being drafted in the 23rd round by the Braves.

This still did not put him on any fast track for Atlanta, but the Braves just couldn't ignore his good hitting statistics. Gattis hit over .300 in all his minor league stops while hitting for power too. Then this past winter, he lead the Venezuelan Winter League in slugging percentage and homers while earning his nickname, El Oso Blanco. This earned Evan his first invite ever to Spring Training with the Braves as a non roster invitee. 

 As if that isn't enough, now the story really goes Hollywood. Gattis makes the Braves out of camp as a back up catcher. He calls his parents and friends and tells them to be in Atlanta for Opening Day. With his family staying over for the second game of the series, Evan was penciled into the lineup as the starting catcher. Making his Major League debut and having to face star pitcher Roy Halladay would be no easy task but Evan was just happy to be there.

With the television crew finding and interviewing his father, Gattis came to the plate in the fourth inning and drove a home run over the left field wall. His personal cheering section goes wild of course and the ball sails into the stands right into the hands.....of a guy from Texas A & M.

So it is a simple little tale. High school star gets full ride to Texas A & M, but drops out and falls into alcohol and drugs. Completes rehab and tries ball again at a junior college. Gets hurt, loses passion for game and quits. Goes wandering around the West doing odd jobs to survive and search for answers. Has one last itch for baseball, enrolls back in school and hits like crazy. Gets drafted in 23rd round, and three years later gets to spring training. Makes the team out of camp and in his big league debut, he homers while his dad is being interviewed on TV. The home run comes off of Cy Young winner Roy Halladay and is caught by a guy from Texas A & M.

Even Hollywood couldn't write this story, no one would believe it.

All this because I know more about nothing...