I've never met Evan Gattis, but one day soon I hope to.

I'm sure I could learn a lot about perseverance, desire, love, hope and success, while also learning about a really good baseball player.

My assumption and it is only an assumption, is that he is as much Evan Gattis the person as he is Evan Gattis the MLB slugger though.

That in itself makes him even more intriguing to me, yet that would only be a small reason why you should cheer for Gattis.  In fact, his appeal for me comes from the path he has taken to the World Series with the Houston Astros.

That path is one long, bumpy, extremely unique path to major league success.

From what you read, a Texas kid who was born to play baseball ended up playing with the elite of the elite from the likes of Clayton Kershaw to Corey Kluber.

He was planning to attend Texas A&M but he hit a bump in the road as some alcohol and marijuana issues forced him to get some help.

After that help, Gattis tried to resume his baseball career at Seminole State in Oklahoma but ended up injuring his knee and quitting the game.

By now it was 2007, three years after Gattis was supposed to attend Texas A&M and he was living in Colorado working at a Ski Resort.

From there he would move back to Texas, then to New Mexico, then to California and landing in Wyoming all while apparently looking for spiritual guidance.

In 2010, Gattis decided to try the baseball thing one more time.

His step brother was playing at the University of Texas of the Permian Basin and the coach there would off Gattis a spot on the team and Gattis would accept.

He crushed it that year batting over .400 and hitting 11 home runs.

The Atlanta Braves would notice and he was selected in the 23rd round of the 2010 MLB Draft.

Gattis would work his way up through the Braves farm system and make his Major League debut in April of 2013.

Again, reminding you that is 9 years after he was supposed to attend Texas A&M as a top prospect.

Gattis hit 20+ home runs in both his rookie and sophomore campaigns with the Braves, making him a hot commodity as the Braves continued to look to rebuild.

He was eventually traded to the Astros for a haul of players.

World Series - Workout Day - Dodger Stadium
Getty Images
loading...

In Houston, the no bat glove wearing, big bearded slugger became a instant fan favorite.

The 2015 season saw Gattis hit 27 home runs while playing left field and DH.

Off the field, Gattis cashed in compared to his first three seasons too. Getting a two year deal with $3.2 million year one and $5.2 million year two.

The 2016 season saw the Astros shift Gattis back to catcher, adding another layer to his story.  He would end up hitting a career high 32 home runs.

That offseason however, the Astros had a chance to trade for Brian McCann and they did, now shifting Gattis back to mainly DH.

In 2017, Gattis has battled injuries causing him to only play in 84 games, but he still had 12 home runs in what was essentially half a season.

Now in the World Series, the missed games are a after thought as Gattis can be a big part of history.

His story is awesome.  A awesome showing of perseverance, passion, love for the game and hard work paying off.

Evan Gattis hasn't taken the easy path to success and that makes him even that much more fun to cheer for!

More From KSOO-AM / ESPN Sioux Falls