It Can Happen....Shielding El Oso Blanco from the Media Darts!
I used one of my favorite lines from the baseball film, "Angels in the Outfield" to illustrate something that can happen, and a breakthrough for me that actually has transpired.
First, the what could happen....
A recent comment by Evan Gattis is already getting a lot of "jumping the gun" type of scrutiny from fellow beat writers. (You'll know why I said fellow in just a moment. Keep reading.) The quote is listed below, and I encourage you readers to be the judge, though not too harshly, if you don't mind:
“We’ll see, you know?” Gattis laughed Monday. “Stay tuned. We’ll find out. But I think we’ll score a lot of runs. And if you do, you win a lot. Who cares about the strikeouts if you win the World Series?”
Sports writers seemed anything but thrilled. Objectively, I would say they may be right to raise their eyebrows. It seems that, on the whole, they enjoy salivating over an opportunity to pounce on a player from making a jokingly, off-the-wall type of statement such as this. They practically almost live for it, after all.
But if I may interject, having possess the same optimism and enthusiasm of Evan himself, I must do my duty to come to his journalistic, and otherwise loyalist fan and ally aide. Having met the player and man in person, I can say with the utmost certainty that he is not one to stir a pot or create controversy. He gives 150% of everything he has in him to get better at the game of baseball. All of the players and coaches that have ever known or worked with him can vouch for Evan on this.
Additionally, he is not ENTIRELY wrong in his statement. Why? Let's take a look at the teams that made the World Series in 2014, and where they ranked in team strikeouts.
San Francisco: 1,245 K's in the regular season (Ranked 17th); 109 in the postseason (Won the world series!) Total strikeouts = 1,354
Kansas City: 985 K's in the regular season (Ranked last - 30th); 105 in the postseason (Won the AL title and forced a Game 7.) Total Strikeouts = 1,090
Average between the two clubs in 2014: 1,222 K's
Now, here are the stats for the two teams that Gattis was on last year, and how his current team did last year:
Atlanta Braves: 1,369 K's (Ranked 4th) Difference between the WS clubs average: 147 more
Houston Astros: 1,442 K's (Ranked 2nd) Difference between the WS clubs average: 220 more
Average K's for Gattis' two ball clubs in 2014: 1,406 K's (While not great, still less than a 200 K difference from the WS clubs. 184 to be exact!)
A lot can be made from such a comment by Evan Gattis. But being his most loyal fan and ally, I have to give him the benefit of the doubt every time. Jeer to that if you must, but plenty of folks out there believe, like I do, that his display of enthusiasm and solid work ethic will make him a future franchise star player for Houston.
Hey....It Can Happen!!!!
Twitter seems to agree:
Batting Stance Guy @BattingStanceG
@BattingStanceG @GattisRonald lift operator HOF?
@BulldogBeing @BattingStanceG @GattisRonald No way, Cooperstown! You're totally gonna make it there, champ! #ElOsoAllStar
First, the what could happen....
A recent comment by Evan Gattis is already getting a lot of "jumping the gun" type of scrutiny from fellow beat writers. (You'll know why I said fellow in just a moment. Keep reading.) The quote is listed below, and I encourage you readers to be the judge, though not too harshly, if you don't mind:
“We’ll see, you know?” Gattis laughed Monday. “Stay tuned. We’ll find out. But I think we’ll score a lot of runs. And if you do, you win a lot. Who cares about the strikeouts if you win the World Series?”
Sports writers seemed anything but thrilled. Objectively, I would say they may be right to raise their eyebrows. It seems that, on the whole, they enjoy salivating over an opportunity to pounce on a player from making a jokingly, off-the-wall type of statement such as this. They practically almost live for it, after all.
But if I may interject, having possess the same optimism and enthusiasm of Evan himself, I must do my duty to come to his journalistic, and otherwise loyalist fan and ally aide. Having met the player and man in person, I can say with the utmost certainty that he is not one to stir a pot or create controversy. He gives 150% of everything he has in him to get better at the game of baseball. All of the players and coaches that have ever known or worked with him can vouch for Evan on this.
Additionally, he is not ENTIRELY wrong in his statement. Why? Let's take a look at the teams that made the World Series in 2014, and where they ranked in team strikeouts.
San Francisco: 1,245 K's in the regular season (Ranked 17th); 109 in the postseason (Won the world series!) Total strikeouts = 1,354
Kansas City: 985 K's in the regular season (Ranked last - 30th); 105 in the postseason (Won the AL title and forced a Game 7.) Total Strikeouts = 1,090
Average between the two clubs in 2014: 1,222 K's
Now, here are the stats for the two teams that Gattis was on last year, and how his current team did last year:
Atlanta Braves: 1,369 K's (Ranked 4th) Difference between the WS clubs average: 147 more
Houston Astros: 1,442 K's (Ranked 2nd) Difference between the WS clubs average: 220 more
Average K's for Gattis' two ball clubs in 2014: 1,406 K's (While not great, still less than a 200 K difference from the WS clubs. 184 to be exact!)
A lot can be made from such a comment by Evan Gattis. But being his most loyal fan and ally, I have to give him the benefit of the doubt every time. Jeer to that if you must, but plenty of folks out there believe, like I do, that his display of enthusiasm and solid work ethic will make him a future franchise star player for Houston.
Twitter seems to agree:
Batting Stance Guy
Evan Gattis will enter Hall of Fame with Astros cap.
And Evan himself even jokingly responded:
To which I replied:
Now, the what has actually happened!:
I'd like to give a special shout out to Blaine Blontz and the folks over at FantasyPros.com for giving me the opportunity to join their MLB News Desk to cover the Houston Astros. I'm very grateful for this and will not let you folks down!!!! Living proof that miracles happen everyday!
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