"Weighing" The Options

An off season development that so many people have been running away with since Astros Fan Fest has been the fact that your people's champion and mine, Evan Gattis dropped close to 20 lbs while working with a personal trainer in the off season. In addition to golfing a lot and getting engaged to his long time girlfriend of 7 years and now fiancee Kim, this was just another accomplishment made this winter by El Oso Blanco. An active off season, to be sure.

Now, you would think that many people would be celebratory of such an achievement by a player that is clearly wanting to shed pounds, and with it a DH only label in order to gain versatility and become a more valuable asset to this Houston Astros ball club, right? Unfortunately, being in the kind of cruel world we live in, headlines such as the following below are beginning to spread around:

Evan Gattis lost weight, if that means anything 

Seriously??!!

Evan Gattis dropped 18 pounds this winter. Will it hurt is home run production?

You're joking, right?!

Even some full articles were getting into the mix about it....

Nobody cared about Evan Gattis losing weight. (really? Because I sure did!) When you’re 260 pounds and finish second in the league with 11 triples it’s hard to suggest you need to make a change. Gattis still decided it was best to drop some weight, losing 18 pounds in the offseason.

For Gattis, a guy who literally looks like a bear, he’s doing it all wrong. Winter is the time when his species should load up on weight. He should find a dark, warm cave to crawl into and get really big and strong. Even if he is a bear, Gattis has realized the importance of slimming down. He wants to be more nimble and I believe this is an effect of legging out so many triples. A little less weight to lug around will definitely benefit his joints.

The only downside I see from Gattis losing weight is a decrease in home runs. He smashed 27 of them last season while also delivering 88 RBIs in his first year with the Houston Astros. His power is what makes him dangerous. Now with Chris Carter off the roster the Astros will need him to continue to produce with the long ball. Losing 18 pounds shouldn’t hinder this too much, but if he wants to go back to whole milk I don’t think it will hurt.

(Reference: Tim Boyle of SportsBlog.com)

I suppose most of this is meant to joke around a little bit, and Evan himself would probably have a good chuckle. But honestly, do folks really need to take a positive achievement such as his and put such a negative spin on it? This is the one area of my job in media that I sometimes really cannot stand. The need for some writers to make a spectacle out of something that a player was trying to do to improve his game, and by extension, his own life.

Quite frankly, I'll be one of the first to commend Evan on a job well done on all fronts; the weight loss, the engagement, and the all around humble nature that he still expresses towards all of his fans, regardless of his celebrity. That's just one of many reasons this man is, and always will be, the REAL people's champion.

Of course, Brian McTaggart of MLB Network did beat me to the punch a bit with this wonderful article on the Astros website: (Kudos to you sir, if you're reading this!)

Gattis loses weight, gains versatility

Slugger works with personal trainer in effort to shed DH-only label

Gattis' triple

8/14/15: Evan Gattis drives a ball into the right-center-field gap and hustles all the way around to third for a triple

By Brian McTaggart / MLB.com | @brianmctaggart | January 26th, 2016 

HOUSTON -- Astros designated hitter Evan Gattis worked with a personal trainer this offseason in an effort to lose weight while keeping his strength, and he subsequently dropped 18 pounds. It had nothing to do with him wanting to hit more triples, either.

Gattis, who had 11 triples last year, was urged by the club to become more versatile, and he took it upon himself to hire a personal trainer for the first time to get in better shape. The goal for Gattis is to be able to play the field more and shed the label as a player who can only swing the bat.

"I don't want to be some guy allergic to leather, you know?" he said.

Gattis hit .246 last year and led the team in homers (27), RBIs (88) and, yes, triples (11). He made 136 starts at designated hitter in 2015 and began 11 games in left field, but he never saw action at catcher, the position he spent two years playing with the Braves prior to being traded to Houston.

"Last year, I stuck to strength workouts, and I really kind of took it easy last offseason and didn't do as much," Gattis said. "I got with a personal trainer this year and lost a little weight and maintained strength. That's always been kind of the goal. Every year is a little different."

Gattis played in Venezuela following the 2012 season to get ready for his first taste of the big leagues and admits he was worn out coming into the year.

"I knew it was going to be a long season catching in the big leagues for the first time, and after that, I got lax on some stuff and needed to get back into it," he said. "This has been my first year to get with a personal trainer."

The Astros would like Gattis to be a viable option behind the plate, which meant losing weight to take some of the strain off his knees. Having Gattis be able to play some left field and get in the mix at first base could keep his bat in the lineup more. Astros manager A.J. Hinch opted to hold Gattis out of the starting lineup in the crucial final three games of last season in Arizona because there was no DH.

"I was able to meet with Evan a couple of weeks ago, and he looks great," Hinch said. "I know he wants to be a factor potentially playing in the field somewhere. He always wants to build on the season he had last season. I love when I see players take ownership of their situation, and Evan seems to be taking it very seriously."

Don't be surprised to see Gattis catching some during the spring and taking ground balls at first. The Astros will have Gattis in the lineup somewhere but just want to have more options.

"I don't know what the team wants to do with me 100 percent or what's going to happen," Gattis said. "You never know. Catching's an option, playing a little left is an option, maybe taking ground balls is an option. I'm not really sure yet. I think being mobile, lighter and maintaining strength and kind of working on some unbalances will help me be a little more versatile."

So folks, let us not use jokes to, coin a phrase, "poke the bear." Instead, let's celebrate his victory. Evan himself may not be completely satisfied by what he does in a given baseball season, but he has more than satisfied his coaches, team and adoring fans and support system, including yours truly! :)

Credit: Craig Hlavaty of "NewsFix Houston"

THIS JUST IN!: Evan Gattis is a much better ballplayer than too many are still unwilling to give him credit for! Doubters and Haters should check themselves!