The Milestone Bear Birthday Bash!
A lot of shade has been thrown at your people's champion and mine, Evan Gattis lately. Some of it has had to do with the recent 4 game losing streak by the Astros, including a short two-game home stand against the St. Louis Cardinals the past two days before heading on another long road trip. It all starts this evening to face the Baltimore Orioles and then the Pittsburgh Pirates before heading back home again.
The rest is in big part thanks to the lovely writers at SB Nation's The Crawford Boxes for THIS wonderful little article that tried to cast even more doubt, and eventual hatred from the internet troll commentators, about El Oso Blanco's ball playing abilities. I don't blame the writer, just the storm he and his cohorts helped summon up from the darkest regions of the inferno. And as usual, fending off the social media hate is never an easy feat.
So it dawned on me that the best way to combat all of this is to kill them with kindness, to coin a phrase. Which is exactly what I plan to do in this post by my further POSITIVE highlighting of the many things that make Evan Gattis special, both in baseball and in life! And on that note, today marks a significant milestone in his life.
That's right, folks. Today, August 18th, is Evan Gattis' birthday. He turns the big 3-0 today, otherwise known as the dirty thirty, and was brought into the world back on this day in 1986. (Ironically, it is also the same year the Astros won another pennant. Go figure!) In my humble opinion, I uphold that as a day the world got a just another big sliver of hope and light in it. Aside from the day I came into the world around 17 months prior, but that's a story for another day. Big shout outs to Evan, his parents, his fiancee Kim, and the rest of the family if they are reading this. Ya'll know how special you all are!
To commemorate this special day for this special player and guy, I decided to post pictures and videos/video links that display all the best things that Sr. Oso Blanco has had to offer Major League Baseball thus far in his career. A career I still believe will be nice, long and successful. Enjoy!
1. This MLB Fan Cave video made when Evan was a rookie with the Atlanta Braves back in 2013.
2. Both of his appearances on MLB Network's "Intentional Talk," further showing off his comedic side!
a. His rookie season.
b. Most recently from the wildcard game against the Yankees in 2015!
3. An unforgettable entry into the big leagues - During only his second at-bat, Evan Gattis hits for his first major league hit and home run. All while his dad is being interviewed by Braves media. (Shout out to both of his parents on this one!)
4. Highlight reel from his rookie season in 2013 with Atlanta.
5. A funny "Gattis Facts" commercial he made with the Braves in 2014. He must have known then about the triples he would later hit for the Astros once traded to Houston from Atlanta.
Always Brave - Mark meets Evan Gattis from Chomp Pictures on Vimeo.
6. A MUST WATCH DOCUMENTARY!!!! - For anyone that has ever wondered why I hold Evan Gattis in such high regard as I do, look no further than this video. It will take some time to get through it, but if it doesn't bring you to tears, you have no soul!
Documentary Special - DRIVEN: Evan Gattis - My Story from FS South/SportSouth on Vimeo.
7. Couldn't find a 2014 reel, but this was a clip of the one walk off hit, which was for a home run, that he has had in his career so far.
8. His highlight reel from last season in 2015 as the club leader in HR, RBI and those amazing triples!
9. And then there are some plays that, while made me stop breathing out of fear of injury at first, were ones for a potential career blooper reel:
10. Here are some of Evan Gattis' highlights from 2016 so far:.
So yeah, today is certainly a day for celebration. One that will always sound louder than any "noise" the haters try to make online or elsewhere. No "shade" will draw out any of the bright lights of this figurative birthday club Astros! Anyone that wants to join in can check their negativity at the door!
The rest is in big part thanks to the lovely writers at SB Nation's The Crawford Boxes for THIS wonderful little article that tried to cast even more doubt, and eventual hatred from the internet troll commentators, about El Oso Blanco's ball playing abilities. I don't blame the writer, just the storm he and his cohorts helped summon up from the darkest regions of the inferno. And as usual, fending off the social media hate is never an easy feat.
So it dawned on me that the best way to combat all of this is to kill them with kindness, to coin a phrase. Which is exactly what I plan to do in this post by my further POSITIVE highlighting of the many things that make Evan Gattis special, both in baseball and in life! And on that note, today marks a significant milestone in his life.
That's right, folks. Today, August 18th, is Evan Gattis' birthday. He turns the big 3-0 today, otherwise known as the dirty thirty, and was brought into the world back on this day in 1986. (Ironically, it is also the same year the Astros won another pennant. Go figure!) In my humble opinion, I uphold that as a day the world got a just another big sliver of hope and light in it. Aside from the day I came into the world around 17 months prior, but that's a story for another day. Big shout outs to Evan, his parents, his fiancee Kim, and the rest of the family if they are reading this. Ya'll know how special you all are!
To commemorate this special day for this special player and guy, I decided to post pictures and videos/video links that display all the best things that Sr. Oso Blanco has had to offer Major League Baseball thus far in his career. A career I still believe will be nice, long and successful. Enjoy!
1. This MLB Fan Cave video made when Evan was a rookie with the Atlanta Braves back in 2013.
2. Both of his appearances on MLB Network's "Intentional Talk," further showing off his comedic side!
a. His rookie season.
b. Most recently from the wildcard game against the Yankees in 2015!
3. An unforgettable entry into the big leagues - During only his second at-bat, Evan Gattis hits for his first major league hit and home run. All while his dad is being interviewed by Braves media. (Shout out to both of his parents on this one!)
4. Highlight reel from his rookie season in 2013 with Atlanta.
5. A funny "Gattis Facts" commercial he made with the Braves in 2014. He must have known then about the triples he would later hit for the Astros once traded to Houston from Atlanta.
Always Brave - Mark meets Evan Gattis from Chomp Pictures on Vimeo.
6. A MUST WATCH DOCUMENTARY!!!! - For anyone that has ever wondered why I hold Evan Gattis in such high regard as I do, look no further than this video. It will take some time to get through it, but if it doesn't bring you to tears, you have no soul!
Documentary Special - DRIVEN: Evan Gattis - My Story from FS South/SportSouth on Vimeo.
7. Couldn't find a 2014 reel, but this was a clip of the one walk off hit, which was for a home run, that he has had in his career so far.
8. His highlight reel from last season in 2015 as the club leader in HR, RBI and those amazing triples!
9. And then there are some plays that, while made me stop breathing out of fear of injury at first, were ones for a potential career blooper reel:
a. Getting tripped up over the left field bullpen at AT&T Park in San Francisco. Thank the dear Lord above he wasn't hurt, and instead, had a laugh about it.
b. When he fell off a foul tip trying to reach. Hey, he got a single afterwards!
10. Here are some of Evan Gattis' highlights from 2016 so far:.
c. On Father's Day, Evan gets one of THESE out of the many base runners he has caught stealing already this season. 50% caught stealing ratio so far in 2016, to be exact! He also smacked another home run!
d. Up in Kansas City in game 3 of that series, Evan hits another towering home run off of right handed ace, Ian Kennedy. Unfortunately, it would be the only run the team scored, as they lost that contest.
e. One of his best defensive plays of 2016 so far! Robbing Adam Eaton of the Chicago White Sox as he tried to fly into score at home plate. El Oso Blanco said, "NOT THIS TIME!!!"
f. And the biggest highlight of the season so far, especially for me is the commercial promo for his gnome night back on July 23rd. A game that saw Evan Gattis have another multi homer night! AND I WAS THERE TO SEE IT IN MY FIRST EVER GAME AT MMP!!!!
(Let's relive my reaction to that, SHALL WE??!!)
Try as the critics, doubters and haters might, Evan Gattis still has a significant impact on the game of baseball, both on and off the field. These pics of my two meetings of him so far are further proof of just that:
*11*. MY MEETINGS OF EVAN!!!! (That I hope and pray will be as numerous as possible!)
My first meeting with Evan at a signing in May 2014!
Ran into him again during Astros Fan Fest this past January in 2016. Even got to ask him a question during the live Q&A!
So yeah, today is certainly a day for celebration. One that will always sound louder than any "noise" the haters try to make online or elsewhere. No "shade" will draw out any of the bright lights of this figurative birthday club Astros! Anyone that wants to join in can check their negativity at the door!
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| Original Photo Credit: Hannah Foslien of Getty Images North America |
THERE'S A PARTY GOING ON RIGHT HERE!!!!
P.S. I started a new online business venture. Visit www.baseballproducts.net to check out my ultimate baseball catalog. And be sure to tell your friends and family about me. Thank you readers! VIVA EL OSO BLANCO and GO STROS!!!!
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