Taken from Wikipedia:
“Gattis’ first job after quitting baseball (in 2006) was as a parking valet in Dallas.[4] He then visited his sister in Boulder, Colorado, and decided to reside there. He sold his truck and worked in a pizza parlor and for a resort as a ski-lift operator at the Eldora Mountain Resort.[3]
Seven months later, Gattis moved to Dallas with his brother, where they worked as janitors for Datamatics Global Services. He met a spiritual advisor there, and on her advice, he followed her to Taos, New Mexico.[3] There, he lived in a hostel and worked at a ski resort. Three months later, he moved to California to find more spiritual gurus.[3] Gattis also moved to Wyoming, where he worked at Yellowstone National Park.[1]“
Later on:
After the (2012) regular season, he played in the Venezuelan Winter League, where he batted .303 with 16 home runs and a .595 slugging percentage in 53 games, leading the league in home runs and slugging percentage.[9] He earned the nickname “El Oso Blanco”, Spanish for “the White Bear”.[6]
And now:
A burn-out janitor (with the ID to prove it) who needed more than one spiritual advisor wanders his way back onto a baseball field in Venezuela and leads the league in bombs, earning one of the tightest nicknames I’ve ever heard, ultimately landing in the Bigs and becoming the odds-on-favorite to win the Rookie of the Year—no its not a Disney movie. Its real. And not only is the story completely absurd, so is that bare-handed bat-bender swing.
What makes the story even better is that Gattis didn’t climb up to the pros for one last fleeting moment. Instead, he’s 26 years old and figures to be absolutely obliterating MLB pitching (sorry Kenley Jansen) for years to come.
Here’s another version of his story according to Sports Radio 680:
Bat
Louisville Slugger Prime C243 Ash
The C243 is a very popular model and is available in Maple as well as other versions.
Source: Leon Halip/Getty Images North America
Gattis swings the new Louisville Slugger style wood, and we found an interesting shot of the new engravings:
According to Louisville Slugger’s site, the symbols mean the following:
The “9H” is the level of hardness of the wood, which Louisville Slugger claims is the hardest possible.
Batting Gloves
Source: SI Photo Blog
No need.
Cleats
Mizuno 9-Spike Vapor Elite 6 in Black/White
Gattis’ 9 Spikes, seen in the feature, are also available online.
Necklaces
Phiten x30 Tribal II in Navy
Akadema NTX Ion in Black/White
If he’s wearing them, they must work, right? I’m just about convinced I need one of these.
Source: Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images North America
