Evan Gattis has stayed out of the spotlight for quite some time, with nary a word printed about whether the former catcher/designated hitter was pursuing a new contract until the Astros invited him to be a part of the first-pitch ceremony prior to tonight’s Game 1 of the World Series. (MLBTR reached out to Gattis’ camp earlier this season to inquire but did not receive a reply.) He’ll catch tonight’s first pitch from former teammate Brian McCann, who retired following Atlanta’s ousting from this year’s playoffs.
Gattis broke the silence surrounding his status today when he spoke with FOX 26’s Mark Berman today about his 2019 absence from baseball (Twitter link). Gattis has not formally retired, but he also doesn’t sound like he’s seeking out any new opportunities.
“I really don’t have an answer,” said Gattis. “I don’t even know if I could play, but right now I don’t want to. [Baseball] was a huge part of my life, but I was ready.”
At this point, if Gattis wished to make a return to baseball, he’d surely need to settle for a minor league pact, though the slugger didn’t seem to have any problem with that notion. “If I really want to play,” Gattis told Berman, “I’ll go play, whether it be in Double-A, Triple-A or the big leagues. But it has been such a big transition, much like before I came back to play in baseball again.” Gattis, for those unfamiliar with his remarkable journey, battled depression and drug use after walking away from baseball following high school (as chronicled by USA Today’s Bob Nightengale back in 2013).
Now 33 years of age, Gattis last suited up in 2018 when he appeared in 128 games for Houston and batted .226/.284/.452 with 25 home runs in 451 trips to the plate. He won a World Series ring with the ’Stros a year prior and spent parts of four seasons with the club (plus another two in Atlanta), becoming a fan favorite of many along the way. In all, he’s a career .248/.300/.476 hitter in 706 MLB games (2662 plate appearances).
This makes me really sad. I guess his love for it kinda faded away. At least he has a ring
A ring? The guy has made millions of dollars. He can buy as many rings as he wants.
I’d be in it for rings if I were an MLB player, not the money. No amount of cash could let you experience a professional championship bro.
So you’d pass up 40mil to take 20mil to chase a title? Remember just because they are making millions doesn’t mean they have the same monthly budget the average Joe lives off of. Look how many pros have ended up bankrupt
its a matter of personal opinion. who cares what he prefers?
As someone who works a regular job, if I had a choice, I would take even a one year league-minimum contract to play for the worst team in baseball over ‘experiencing a professional championship’. Half a million dollars can do a lot of good in this world.
Well I wouldn’t be bad enough to have to settle for the worst team…
I agree. Most Americans will be lucky to compile even $2 million dollars over a 40 year span before taxes. I’d be thrilled to get a quarter of that in one year.
Dude Allen Iverson went broke after making millions too. It isn’t always the income, it’s what they are doing with it.
Haha! I love that response JD. It reminds me of one of Ty Cobb’s last interviews before he died. The reporter asked him, “What kind of batting average would you have it you had to play in today’s baseball?”
Ty Cobb:” I would probably only be about a .280 hitter.”
Reporter: “Is that because today’s pitching is so much better than it was when you played?”
Cobb: “No. It’s because I’m 85 years old.”
For love of the game. Greedy players out there.
So the owners should get all the money?
country strong
El Oso Blanco was one of my favorite Astros. I was fortunate to meet him on several occasions and he was always friendly and appreciative of fans. Great all around guy.
I met him when he was still in Braves farm system. Got his autograph. Huge hands. Nice dude. Everybody has their own journey. Should probably start writing his book if he hasn’t already.
With so many horrible catchers in the pros, it blows my mind that someone didn’t offer this guy a contract, especially a major league team. He’s got good power, tends to come through in the clutch, and his defensive struggles were massively overblown.
agreed there. better than Stassi, Frietas, Knapp, etc
I’m a long time Angel fan and Stassi might be the worst all around catcher I’ve ever seen. Lucroy wasn’t the greatest, but to drop Lucroy for Stassi didn’t make an ounce of sense to me.
There are a lot of bad catchers out there.
Yes there are… basically boils down to being able to catch and frame pitches. I can’t imagine the wear and tear on their knees.
cant believe he stuck around so long in Houston, or that that one decent first half carried so much weight in the perception of him as a player.
Did anyone else ever hit 11 of their 12 career triples in one season?
I appreciate the update. I’ve been trying to find out for a while.
Dude’s MLB career triggered Keith Law into oblivion. For that I will always be a fan.
How so? What happened? I haven’t heard this story yet but it sounds very interesting. I have to say I haven’t heard Keith Law’s name in awhile and I used to hear it on a daily basis.
Am I odd for not being resentful at the money these guys make?
It seems more commenters are interested in the drama behind the cash changing hands than in the actual baseball.
I don’t know that most people genuinely care about the dollar amount players make on a year to year basis as long as they are productive players. I think most irritated fans just feel like the financial system in MLB is set up to benifit some teams more then others. They feel it is unfair that some teams are able to spend more then others. It really drives the point home when a lower payroll team drafts and develops a really good player who becomes a fan favorite and everybody really wants to keep that player around. Then another team comes and swoops in offering a massive contract that everyone knows the original team could never afford. Some fans watch that happen to their team year after year and it starts to build up resentment. It’s more of a problem with MLB than any other sport because there is no salary basement/cap system. A system like that would prevent owners from being cheapskates and force them to spend money every year while also preventing other teams from hogging all of the good player when they probably need them the least.
On the other side fans of larger payroll teams resent how much their own players make sometimes when the player is on a massive long term contract but are so old and injured they are obviously done being productive. That is another issue some fans have in MLB because all contracts are fully guaranteed. In the NFL you actually have to earn your money or the team can cut you and basically buy out your contract. I’m sure a lot of Angels/Tigers/Orioles fans aren’t very excited about the fact that Albert Pujols, Miguel Cabrera and Chris Davis are going to be absorbing very large amounts of their teams payroll space for years to come when they don’t produce anything like a player with that salary should. It doesn’t bother me that any of those three players make a ton of cash but I would prefer that their salaries are spent on other far more productive players instead. Especially when you consider the fact that some o those guys are already some of the richest MLB players in history. Why should they get paid so much more then other players that do a far better job if helping their team win but still have way less money in the bank?
I would love to have him back as a backup on the Braves.. but it looks like flowers is gonna be on the team next year, so we can’t afford a dip like that at the position. Honestly need youth… Alex Jackson will prob have to step up and fight for a starter role next year. The expectation is higher than he’s capable of but I know my Braves won’t spend money on that position