Baseball | 6/17/2025 11:39:00 AM
GREENSBORO – Former North Carolina A&T right-handed pitcher Evan Gates is trying to make it to the big leagues. Well, check that. The Gateses are trying to make it to the big leagues.
Gates, 27, is a member of the Double-A San Francisco Giants affiliate Richmond Flying Squirrels. He is also a married man. He met the former Emily Barber in 2021 while playing in Arizona. They later married in Florida and now spend most of their time together, even when he plays on the road. Marriage has added an extra element to his drive to become a major league baseball player one day.
"It's been a different routine," Gates said about marriage. But it is definitely one I enjoy doing. It gives me a different perspective. When I'm not at the ballpark, it helps me block out the game. Having someone with you who is invested in what you do is great. We invest in each other."
The newlyweds talked before the 2025 season and decided to do the minor league baseball life together. Therefore, she is in the stands, home and away. They did not want to look back when they were 40 or 50 years old and regret the lack of time they spent together during Gates' playing career. And it's not only road games when they are together. They're together during children's camps and other community outreach projects.
"She is invested in my career, and that's awesome," said Gates. "I have a fan cheering me on every day. It's been great."
Long before marriage, Gates spent two seasons at Mott Community College (2017-18) before pitching at A&T under head baseball coach Ben Hall from 2019-2021, making 47 appearances, 14 starts and posting a 3.95 ERA during his time in Aggieland.
"I'm a baseball junkie, so being able to pitch in a historic ballpark like The War (War Memorial Stadium) was awesome," said Gates. "It's something you can't take for granted. It is cool to see the improvements they have made. I have an appreciation for having played there, especially being able to walk through those pillars every day. You realize how much history there is and everything that comes with it."
Gates started playing for the Traverse City Pit Spitters, a collegiate summer league team, before playing rookie league baseball for the Giants Black, a Giants affiliate in the Arizona Complex League. In 2022, he made stops in Richmond, Eugene (Ore.) and San Jose (Calif.) before making 42 appearances for the Flying Squirrels, posting a 4-6 record and a 4.39 ERA.
He needed to call on his A&T days during a portion of his career, remembering something Hall told him during his collegiate days. Gates was doing super well and believed he was two weeks out from being called up to the Big Show in San Francisco. He was promoted to Triple-A ball in Sacramento in 2024 before injuring his back. Gates recalls Hall saying during his time in Greensboro: "It's never as bad as you think it is, and it is never as good as you think it is."
"It was one of the toughest moments in my baseball career," said Gates. "I resorted back to what coach said, knowing I was still doing some things right, but I just wasn't at full capacity going out there. I took from what he said that it's important to be even keel. I try not to get too high when things are going well, and I try not to get too low when things aren't. That's a big thing I took from him, and I still apply it."
His advice for the Aggies who follow him is to be grateful for the opportunity to play at the Division I level because playing Division I is the best there is for amateur baseball.
"Every single hour of work you put in is all worth it," said Gates. "The relationships you build throughout the years, the places you may get to see, and the great games you play in. We lived for that. You have a good game. Enjoy it. If you have a good week. Enjoy it. Because this game is really hard."
Gates is back in Richmond, where, at the time of this report, he made 16 appearances with two saves, a 1-0 record, 37 strikeouts, and a 3.16 ERA in 31.1 innings pitched. He has 148 career appearances with 16 saves, a 14-10 mark, and 264 strikeouts with a 3.56 ERA in 222.1 innings.
"Evan is the definition of a professional," said Hall. "He exemplified that here in his time at A&T. I'm excited to see his continued success and growth."
The fire to play baseball still burns inside Gates, and the dream to play in the Bigs is still alive.
"It's hard to get there. It's even harder to stay there," said Gates. "I tell my wife, until the day comes when I'm struggling to get guys out on a consistent basis, the dream is still alive. I still have the tools to do it, and I'm not tired of doing what I do. I enjoy putting in the work every day, especially in the offseason."
It certainly is good to have someone to share your dream with daily.
