#11

 

Full name:

 

James Evan Gattis

 

Nicknames:

 

"El Oso Blanco" or The White Bear

Born: 

 

August 18, 1986 
Dallas, Texas
Grew up in Forney, Texas

 

School:

 

R. L. Turner High School
Forney High School
Bishop Lynch High School (moved around to play for various coaches)
Texas A&M University (never showed up)
Attended Sundown Ranch Recovery Center (a drug and alcohol rehabilitation clinic in Canton, Texas)

Seminole State College (Oklahoma)
University of Texas of the Permian Basin (coach Brian Reinke)

 

Family: 

 

Father - Jo
Mother - Melynda (an assistant escrow officer at a Dallas law firm) 
Half sisters - Vanessa Mize and Valerie Lynch
Step-brother - Drew Kendrick (helped him get back into baseball)
Girlfriend - Kimberly Waters 

 

Friends (childhood):

 

Spencer Phillips, Chase Harrell, Ray Richardson and Chris Landin 

 

Early Career:

 

2010 - Drafted in the 23rd round by the Atlanta Braves.
2015 - Traded with James Hoyt to the Houston Astros for Mike Foltynewicz, Andrew Thurman, and Rio Ruiz. 

Mistakes:

 

Anxiety and substance abuse led him to abandon his scholarship to Texas A&M University
While playing at Seminole State he injuried his knee and decided to quit baseball.
After quitting baseball he was a parking valet (Dallas) worked at a pizza parlor (Boulder, Colorado) and as a ski-lift operator (Eldora Mountain Resort).
He continued to struggle with mental health (anxiety and depression).
He moved to Dallas and worked as a janitor for Datamatics Global Services. Here he met a New Age spiritual advisor.
Moved to Taos, New Mexico, then California, then Wynoming to work at Yellowstone National Park. 
He returned to baseball in 2010 when his step brother got him on his team at the University of Texas of the Permian Basin. 

He played on a youth traveling baseball team called the Dallas Tigers with Clayton Kershaw. He also played on other teams with Austin Jackson, Billy Butler, Homer Bailey and Justin Upton.

Idols:

 

Chipper Jones

Venezuelan Baseball:

 

Played with Las Aguilas del Zulia