The Whataburger WHAT-A-GUY!!!! (With Pics)

A wonderful signing happened yesterday for Houston Astros fans at a local area Whataburger involving the real people's champion, Evan Gattis. And as part of my personal duties towards this champion, I had to highlight that event in today's post.

First, an article about it from Houston Chronicle reporter, Brian T. Smith. If unreadable, a link to the direct article is here:

http://www.houstonchronicle.com/sports/insider/smith/article/Houston-has-fallen-in-love-with-Evan-Gattis-and-6399483.php

Houston has fallen in love with Evan Gattis, and vice versa

By Brian T. Smith  July 22, 2015

BAYTOWN – There was a Walmart parking lot to the east, a strip mall to the west, two gas stations down the road and a fast-food restaurant in the middle of it all. And that's where Evan Gattis got goosebumps.

The thick-bodied, thick-bearded Gattis pulled up Tuesday thinking there might be 25 people waiting. Maybe 50. He found about 400, standing and sitting beneath the open sky as a 90 degree-plus Texas sun beat down, with Astros umbrellas pointed upward and bright-orange Astros T-shirts proudly displayed. 

"I know I had a lot of fans in Atlanta but it's shocking," Gattis said. "I don't know. It's pretty cool." 

Gattis has been an Astro for just six months and 95 games. He already wants to make Houston a real home. And not just in the way that so many millionaire athletes do, when they pledge allegiance to a new city, then leave for good as soon as their next contract is due. Gattis, who spent several years aimlessly roaming the country as he searched for a true path in life, has taken to Houston just like the team's resurgent fan base has latched on to El Oso Blanco, the White Bear. 

The 2015 Astros are Dallas Keuchel, Carlos Correa, George Springer and Jose Altuve. They're also the burly, brawny, bulky Gattis, whose fervor at the plate is captured by his ever-shifting, glove-less hands and whose raw power is propelled by an ax-like, choppy swing designed for Crawford Box dingers. "My son's copying his batting stance," Matt Hernandez said.

Why does the 6-foot-4, 255-pound Gattis grab the Pasadena resident?

"It's just how intense he is," Hernandez, 32, said. "He's a big dude, all about playing the game. There's no showiness or anything like that. He just gets up there and hacks." 

Gattis' only-player-in-baseball-like-him persona is mentioned. The biggest Astro in uniform becomes silent.

"I just play," he said. 

That's all Gattis did as a Dallas kid, devoting so much of his young life to the sport that he burned out just when others were locking in. The rest of Gattis' remarkable journey became the stuff of MLB legend, when he became a 26-year-old Braves rookie after being drafted out of the University of Texas of the Permian Basin (Odessa) during the 23rd round in 2010.

His janitor's card doubling as a Twitter avatar says it all. Suicidal thoughts, drug use, depression, endless everyman jobs -- car valet, ski-lift operator, pizza cook – even more. 

At 28, Gattis has already lived multiple lives. Baseball brought him back full circle.

"You hear stories, so you always wonder what type of guy he is," Astros reliever Pat Neshek said. "A lot of it is the curiosity factor. 'Who is this guy?' And then you kind of get to know him and he's exactly what you think. He's crazy -- great crazy. He's very caring. A way better guy than you can even imagine." 

Four hundred or so fans – the line waiting for Gattis looped around the restaurant, then snaked back to its origin – pictured his signature inked on personal items. A designated hitter batting .243 with 15 home runs, 55 RBI and a .716 OPS started writing his name at 11 a.m., then kept moving his hands until the session was complete. 

"The fans have kind of been waiting for this," said Whataburger marketing manager Jeff Altman, who declared it the largest crowd ever for the restaurant's Astros autograph events. "I've never seen it wrap around the building before."

Gattis got black coffee when he arrived, then asked for a cup of water. While he answered questions about his new world, he dripped drops of cold water into his coffee, cooling down the black.

Gattis thought about the dreamed-up monster burger he loves: Triple meat, triple cheese, mayonnaise on both sides, bacon. He never ate it, sticking to coffee and trying to honor his ideal playing weight of 253.

"You're going to laugh at how anal I am," said Gattis, who laughed at himself after accidentally biting on the paper that was wrapped around the straw in his water cup.

"I'm just trying to get as light and strong as possible, so I can be powerful," Gattis said. "I don't want to be a guy that ate his way out of the league."

Two seasons in Atlanta as an unsettled catcher, outfielder and first baseman have been answered with Gattis inked in as the permanent Astros' DH. The mental and physical stress of constantly squatting behind the plate have evaporated, allowing Gattis to focus on his bat and the body that swings it.

After all those years of walking away from baseball, he wants to extend his career as long as possible in Year Three. After all that time trying to find a new home, Gattis doesn't want to part from the city he just started calling his own.

"I really kind of fell in love with (Houston)," Gattis said. "I really don't want to leave in the offseason. This might be the first place my girlfriend and I could actually make permanent. It would be really nice."

The 2015 Astros were brought up again. As the question was asked, goosebumps appeared on Gattis' arms.

"Nobody knew how good we would be," he said. "But we knew we had something."

And of course, no signing update would be complete without pictures from the event. Enjoy!

If you have comments or pics about or from the event that you would like to share, please put in the comments section below!