Atlanta Braves: Powerful Story of “El Oso Blanco” Evan Gattis
By Seth Carter
It’s a different sound off his bat
Evan Gattis began his professional baseball career in Danville playing Rookie-Ball. He received a $1,000 signing bonus, which doesn’t seem like much relatively speaking, but do you know how many homeless guys he could hire to help him push-start his truck now?
Gattis struggled in his first shot at pro-ball. He managed to put up pretty good statistics but he only slugged .387.
In 2011 at the age of 24, Gattis evidently adjusted to professional pitching. He hit .322 with 22 homers and 24 doubles in just 88 games. He slugged .601 in Rome that season. To say the least, some important ears heard the sound off of his bat in Rome.
The next season, he worked his way up to AA-Mississippi where he continued to destroy the baseball. In 49 games in Double-A, Gattis mashed 13 doubles and nine homers in just 182 at-bats. He finished with a .522 slugging percentage.
Next stop: Venezuelan Fall League. There, Gattis hit 15 homers in just 195 at-bats and again flirted with a .600 slugging percentage.
Keep in mind, only 10.5% of division-one seniors go on to play professional baseball. It’s really hard… or it’s supposed to be.
El Oso Blanco
While in Venezuela, Gattis’ teammates gave him the nickname of El Oso Blanco, Spanish for “the White Bear.” He would be anointed with the nickname just in time. Despite getting a late start to his minor-league career, he would get an opportunity to hit the fast-forward button the following spring.