The amazing story of Atlanta Braves rookie catcher Evan Gattis, who overcame years of drug and alcohol problems and severe bouts of depression and also spent time jumping from odd job (janitor) to odder job (hostel housekeeper) before returning to baseball and enjoying one of the more remarkable starts for any MLB rookie in recent history, has inspired a fair amount of mythologizing: Gattis, a fast fan favorite, has been nicknamed El Oso Blanco (“the white bear”), a meme that has given rise to some pretty incredible t-shirt designs.
And now, we have “The Ballad of the White Bear,” a new tune written and recorded by local country singer Matt Hudgins. In the YouTube video above, Hudgins, an avid Braves fan, explains that the song “was written during the first four innings of the Braves vs. Twins game on May 22nd, 2013″—today’s game, an 8-3 Braves win in which Gattis hammered a grand slam.
The song features some pretty outrageous additions to the Gattis backstory. Of course, with that kind of history, any of them could potentially be true.
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