Player Interview: Evan Gattis, C, Rome Braves (Class A, South Atlantic League)

FEB 23rd, 2012-As a follow-up to my previous article on Evan Gattis, I asked him for some personal insight into the long, arduous path he traveled from his time as a troubled teen to All-Star catcher in the pro ranks. He was kind enough to oblige.

When you left baseball initially, what would you say was the greatest reason?

I felt like there was something more important I had to "figure out".

Did you feel that baseball had, more or less, become your whole life, and that it had somehow made you forget who you were as a person, apart from the game? That you had to remember who you were, in a sense?

Not so much the baseball part of it. I felt like there was something missing no matter how good I was at ball.

But I like that you (mention) "remember", because when people feel like themselves, it's an overwhelmingly familiar sense.

That's a very good answer. When you first hit the road, did you have an idea as to what you wanted to accomplish, or was it just a matter of getting away from the world you knew and learning a bit about life in general?

Well, I finished a semester of junior college when I was enrolled at Seminole State College (Oklahoma) and I was actually giving up the "spiritual search" initially, but later on I wanted to surround myself with people of common interest.

So you were driven to learn about yourself, as well as what life was really about?

Yeah, whatever the motivation the story for everyone is the same; for me it was for relief of depression. Some people lose a child, some people do outrageously courageous things and they don't know how they did it, some people go their whole life with a sense of lack and they know their death is approaching. It happens differently for everyone but it's the same dynamic. It's a search, it wasn't like a hobby. I wanted help.

I can certainly relate to that. I understand the impact that depression can have on both the life of the person suffering and the friends and family who care for that person. I've seen it both as a health care provider and as someone who's suffered from it, personally.

Right, it's hard on everyone. And who wants to be around a depressed person? And who wants to be depressed?

It's hard for a lot of people to understand, so I think they shy away from the subject. At what point did you feel like you had reached an understanding about what you were going through? Was there a moment of epiphany for you?

Many, in fact. It seemed to be a process. The endgame was in Santa Cruz. I knew I had nothing to look for, and it's funny; when you don't look you find (it). Not that you find anything, just that you don't have to look, because the search is exhausting.

Would you say your experiences on the road strengthened your desire to play baseball, or perhaps allowed you to enjoy the game more?

I appreciate it more. I can enjoy it full on, without wondering if there is something more important to be doing.

So your time away from the game was sort of a liberating experience for you, in many ways?

Yes, that was the whole point: liberation!

Now I'd like to ask you about your experiences with rehab, if you're comfortable with talking about that.

Yeah. I was 17 and terrified of failing a drug test for pot, and I didn't want to be a "mess up".

So it was an easy decision for you?

It kind of happened fast and I was depressed. Seemed like a good decision.

Certainly seems like it worked out for you. Last question: was rehab particularly tough for you, or did you get through it without much much difficulty?

It wasn't tough and kind of refreshing. It wasn't the happiest of places, but it was good to talk to people.

All Roads Lead To Rome For Star Catcher...Eventually

"My whole worth as a person was as a baseball player. If I failed at that, where would I be?"

-Evan Gattis, on explaining the pressures which lead to his 4-year hiatus from baseball.

FEB 19^th, 2012-It goes without saying that most ball players, if given the option, would like to advance their careers as quickly as possible.

They don't plan to take their time, don't want to spend too long in the low minors, and they want to get at it as soon as possible. Most players, that is.

Sometimes, however, Life has other plans. Evan Gattis can tell you a thing or two about that.

First stop: Texas A&M, at which point our pal Life decided to deal Evan a heavy blow, one which would affect the next 4+ years of his life. In situations like this, I prefer to let the player himself explain things for himself. Suffice it to say that he slipped off the rails, if only temporarily. He was just a kid, and a kid with what must have seemed like the weight of the world on his shoulders. He did what he could to cope, as we all do. The Aggies were not in his future, as it turned out.

Next stop: Seminole State College in Oklahoma. There, he suffered a knee injury and hit the wall, turning his back on baseball. That was the end of the story, as far as the game is concerned. Evan had a much more important and far more serious game ahead of him. There were moments when his anger and frustration were too much to bear. No different than most any other young man, anywhere in the world. His real problem lay with how he coped with that anger. For a short time, he ran. 

After that, he was nearly everywhere but a ball field. Colorado, Wyoming, New Mexico, California, all the while searching for answers, searching for himself, finding little in the process.

By the time he made it to San Francisco, he was living (if you can call it that) in his truck. A truck with a broken starter. The story is that he was trailing an area spiritualist looking for (you guessed it) answers. And surprisingly, that's where he found them. Well, one anyway. The one that mattered the most, for him. 

The spiritualist offered this gem: Calm down. Relax. Chill.

And go figure, that was THE answer for Evan Gattis. Take it easy. For whatever reason, it worked.

By this time, he had been away from the game for 4 years. Four. A phone call to his stepbrother Drew Kendrick, at the time playing for UT-Permian Basin, fixed that little problem. Well, it gave him a push start towards fixing things. It helped that UT-PB's coach remembered him from his high school playing days.

Kendrick knew what they were getting. The balls he hit, they had that “sound”. You know it if you hear it; the acoustic difference between a .22 and a 12-gauge. Scouts will tell you that “the sound” gets their attention, every time.

It didn't take long before the Atlanta Braves heard the sound, as well, and drafted him in the 23^rd round of the 2010 Draft. By the looks of things, he might have been a real bargain. Especially when you consider the path he traveled in order to make it to Class A Rome; all the jobs, all the driving, all the searching, looking for Evan the man, running from Evan the ball player.

Turns out, he found him in California. A lot farther from home, but much closer to his heart than baseball in the Sally League turned out to be.

Which is as it should be.