Going the Distance With the Dirty Thirty!
Readers, I am filled with so many positive vibes right now, it's almost brand new to me. Feelings of pride, joy, excitement and wonder are just some of the things coursing through my veins right now. And it's all thanks to your people's champion and mine, Evan Gattis!
Let's go back and take a look at yesterday's series sweeping victory over the Oakland Athletics, shall we?
Okay, apparently the video won't play on here, and you have to click the link to watch it on YouTube. But it's well worth it to see exactly what kind of wild win it was for the Houston Astros, as well as for Evan himself. The team is now only 1 game out of the wild card standings for the post season. To sweeten the deal even more, 7 of the last 10 games of the regular season come against a Los Angeles Angels team that Houston has dominated all season. While the spacemen won't be sleeping on a divisional rival with every game from here on out being of the utmost importance, facing a team you have dominated for much of the season should be enough of an easy feat to encounter.
And then you have the X-Factor Big White Bear in Evan Gattis, who will be a big token to get these Astros on the train heading to October baseball. He broke his own home run record again yesterday in two ways:
1. It was the first time in his career that he has reached the 30 home run plateau in a single season. All with just 418 at-bats, compared to having nearly 600 last year as a full time DH.
2. The 30th home run of the season he hit was also the 100th career home run for El Oso Blanco! And the celebrations that ensued for both have filled my heart with plenty of joy on that. Not to mention, one from starting pitcher, Colin McHugh:
And what exactly do the critics, doubters and haters have to say about all this? That's right.....CRICKETS! Although, some have been humble enough to admit their doubts and see the error of their ways, thus coming towards the light. As this one fan from SB Nation's The Crawfish Boxes, whom still have me banned from commenting on anything, said of me just this morning:
Posted by Alphakennie1 on Sep 22, 2016 | 7:22 AM
You're very right, Alphakennie1. Whoever you might be. I did have faith in Evan Gattis when hardly anyone else would do the same. I have since he entered the major leagues, and will continue to long after he has retired from the game. And you know why? It's called loyalty, and more people should try it some time. Caring about another person more than yourself should not be the subject of ridicule or alienation. It should be an important life lesson of empathy towards others that more people should take heed on.
Now that my personal gloating rant is over, let us all enjoy this wild ride that the Houston Astros are taking us on. Hopefully, the end result will be a nice playoff run.
Let's go back and take a look at yesterday's series sweeping victory over the Oakland Athletics, shall we?
Okay, apparently the video won't play on here, and you have to click the link to watch it on YouTube. But it's well worth it to see exactly what kind of wild win it was for the Houston Astros, as well as for Evan himself. The team is now only 1 game out of the wild card standings for the post season. To sweeten the deal even more, 7 of the last 10 games of the regular season come against a Los Angeles Angels team that Houston has dominated all season. While the spacemen won't be sleeping on a divisional rival with every game from here on out being of the utmost importance, facing a team you have dominated for much of the season should be enough of an easy feat to encounter.
And then you have the X-Factor Big White Bear in Evan Gattis, who will be a big token to get these Astros on the train heading to October baseball. He broke his own home run record again yesterday in two ways:
1. It was the first time in his career that he has reached the 30 home run plateau in a single season. All with just 418 at-bats, compared to having nearly 600 last year as a full time DH.
2. The 30th home run of the season he hit was also the 100th career home run for El Oso Blanco! And the celebrations that ensued for both have filled my heart with plenty of joy on that. Not to mention, one from starting pitcher, Colin McHugh:
Brian McTaggart of MLB.com got a great post game interview with Evan afterwards:#ElOsoBlanco (@BulldogBeing) 🐻, his 100th homer ⚾️ and a sweep 🏆 to end our road trip! #PlayoffPush2016 pic.twitter.com/BOGMZIP58M— Collin McHugh (@Collin_McHugh) September 21, 2016
As always, I love hearing that man speak. It's always a true inspiration to hear him reveal what he can and when he can about his approach to both baseball and life. The change in approach that he has taken has paid dividends for both the club and his personal stats. As if he didn't already break enough records in 2016, he now becomes only one of 4 Houston Astros to get 30 home runs in a season since 2006.Gattis post game pic.twitter.com/5oEC6qemEv— Brian McTaggart (@brianmctaggart) September 21, 2016
And what exactly do the critics, doubters and haters have to say about all this? That's right.....CRICKETS! Although, some have been humble enough to admit their doubts and see the error of their ways, thus coming towards the light. As this one fan from SB Nation's The Crawfish Boxes, whom still have me banned from commenting on anything, said of me just this morning:
Where’s tvwizard when you need him!? I owe him a huge apology. He had faith in Gattis when most didn’t. I couldn’t be more happy to be wrong.
You're very right, Alphakennie1. Whoever you might be. I did have faith in Evan Gattis when hardly anyone else would do the same. I have since he entered the major leagues, and will continue to long after he has retired from the game. And you know why? It's called loyalty, and more people should try it some time. Caring about another person more than yourself should not be the subject of ridicule or alienation. It should be an important life lesson of empathy towards others that more people should take heed on.
Now that my personal gloating rant is over, let us all enjoy this wild ride that the Houston Astros are taking us on. Hopefully, the end result will be a nice playoff run.
Original Photo Credit: Ezra Shaw of Getty Images, North America
Evan Gattis is already in the right pose to help this team sprint to October!!!!
Comments
Post a Comment