magical moments

Evan Gattis’ home run for Atlanta on Wednesday night wasn’t as jaw-dropping as the bomb he hit at Trustmark Park on Saturday, but it was more significant, of course. Wednesday’s game counted, and it was Gattis’ first in the big leagues, completing his improbable oddysey. From out of the game to homering off Roy Halladay in four short years. Gattis, who hit nine homers in a partial season with the Mississippi Braves last season, is the 69th M-Braves alumnus to make the majors – and not the only one to make magic happen right off the bat. Brian McCann was the first, back in 2005. Called up straight from Double-A, McCann debuted on June 10 and got a hit in his first at-bat. He homered in his second big league game. Jeff Francoeur joined McCann in The Show later that summer and homered in his first big league game. Jordan Schafer and Jason Heyward did Francoeur one better, homering in their first MLB at-bats, Schafer in 2009, Heyward in 2010.