Photo by: Neil Evans/Phillips Academy
'Cats in Baseball: Gus Quattlebaum
8/27/2020 10:52:00 AM | Baseball
Cats in Baseball is a series of stories highlighting Davidson alumni who work in the highest levels of the game. The series opener is here.
Gus Quattlebaum '97
• 3B/RF/RHP
• Degree: History
• Vice President of Pro Scouting, Boston Red Sox
Gus Quattlebaum grew up near Boston, living and dying with the Red Sox. He now has an office at Fenway Park.
On those terms alone, it's clear the former Davidson Wildcat and current Red Sox Vice President of Pro Scouting has lived many of his baseball dreams.
The man who spent hours painting the outfield fence at Davidson now regularly overlooks the Green Monster, and he appreciates that. But he's also under significant scrutiny as a front office executive in a city that expects pro championships on the gridiron, the hardwood the ice and certainly, the diamond.
"We carry as a badge of honor that there's a lot of pressure that comes with it," says Quattlebaum, who graduated in 1997. "When things aren't going well, it's hard to drop the girls off at school, and we'll get some snide remarks at times. But when we're doing well, and we've been fortunate to have a number of World Series here, and we've won all of them (in my time), that there's no better place to be when you're winning."
Quattlebaum joined his hometown team in 2006, has been a part of Red Sox championships in 2007, 2013 and 2018 and remembers the excitement of seeing a high school standout named Mookie Betts on video for the first time.
He got his start in 1998 in player development with the Montreal Expos, then landed his first full-time scouting job with, ironically, the New York Yankees during their championship run of the late 1990s and early 2000s. He also scouted for Baltimore before landing with the Red Sox.
"He got his foot in the door at a young age, and Gus quickly impressed some pretty influential people in the game," says former Davidson coach Dick Cooke. "Clearly, he's got an aptitude and a feel for the job."
At Davidson, he played third base, right field and pitched. A two-time All-SoCon pick, he ranks among Davidson's career leaders in home runs (2nd, 35), walks (2nd, 121), slugging percentage (4th, .577) and runs scored (4th, 160).
As a freshman, he helped the Wildcats knock off No. 1 Georgia Tech, the eventual national runner-up with future big leaguers (and Red Sox players) Jason Varitek, Nomar Garciaparra and Jay Payton in the lineup. Varitek, a former all-star catcher, is now his colleague.
Cooke says he was a solid, well-rounded, consistent player for four years. Early in his senior season, Quattlebaum raised the bar with a day to remember.
6-5-6-10
The 1997 season was just getting started, but following a Saturday doubleheader, Quattlebaum was angry with himself. He had just gone 1-for-6 at home against VCU — "I didn't do anything offensively," he says — and was frustrated by his approach at the plate as the Wildcats earned a split.
With the series finale set for Sunday afternoon, he lowered his personal expectations, relaxed and … promptly delivered an historical performance.
His first four numbers in the box score reveal part of his impact that day, but even 6-5-6-10 doesn't tell the full story of Feb. 16, 1997.
Quattlebaum led the Wildcats to a 17-6 victory by going 6-for-6, with four home runs and 10 RBIs. You read that correctly: six hits, four home runs and 10 RBIs, all of which remain single-game school records, along with his 18 total bases that day. And this was against a Rams team that went on to win the Colonial Athletic Association title.
"Sometimes you just get in that zone, and it didn't matter what they were throwing," he says. "I was just on time that day."
Hitting third in the lineup as the right fielder, Quattlebaum singled in his first at-bat and gave the Wildcats the lead in the third inning with a solo home run to right. He hit a solo blast to left in the fifth and had an RBI-single in the sixth before hitting a grand slam to left center in the seventh.
In the eighth, he didn't walk to the plate. He floated.
"It's the only time I've ever tried to actually hit a home run, and it was abundantly clear on the first swing that that was not a good idea," he says. "The guy tied me up pretty good with a first-pitch fastball in. I could just tell by the way he reacted that he thought he got on me, so … I guess I guessed right, and he came back with it."
Quattlebaum launched a three-run shot to right center to cap an unforgettable outing that earned him Collegiate Baseball National Player of the Week honors.
He actually earned one more distinction that afternoon, and it had nothing to do with his bat. Eleven pitchers stepped to the rubber in the series finale, including seven for VCU. Combined, only one pitcher didn't allow a hit: Quattlebaum, who threw 1.1 innings in relief.
Examining the box score 23 years later, Cooke laughs.
"I'm wondering why the heck I pitched him when it was 17-6," he says.
A scout's life
Baseball scouting is a lot like the game itself. You're going to fail, but that just makes the triumphs even sweeter.
Quattlebaum has searched for the game's next stars at all levels and around the globe, from Latin America to Japan and in America's tiniest towns and largest cities. He's eyed overlooked, underutilized pros who could thrive in a specific Red Sox role and watched young upstarts trying to swing their way to a better life.
"The younger you go, the more you have to put your dreamer's hat on and project aggressively," he says. "To walk onto a field out of the middle of nowhere in the Dominican and say that this 14- or 15-year-old someday is going to hit in Boston, is a risky proposition. We're wrong all the time, so it's humbling. … It's hard, but extremely gratifying when you identify a player at a young age and you see him some day make the major leagues."
Once, he scouted a one-handed pitcher named Chad Bentz in Juneau, Alaska. Quattlebaum remembers watching Bentz, who eventually reached the majors with the Expos, belt a home run that day. And he remembers enjoying the company of one of the few fans in the stands, a tall, strong young man who was headed for the top of his sport as well.
"It was Carlos Boozer," says Quattlebaum. "So the things you get to see and the people you get to meet, that's the thing that scouting gives you."
Pitcher Rich Hill had been an established big leaguer, but had battled multiple injuries and was cast into a reliever's role. He wanted to return to the majors as a starter in 2015 and called Quattlebaum one night after striking out 18 in an independent league game. It led to Boston giving him a shot.
"We just brought him in because we were out of it," says Quattlebaum. "Next thing you know, he's Clayton Kershaw, and then he's facing us in the (2018) World Series."
And then there's Markus Lynn Betts, better known everywhere as Mookie.
Also a top-tier bowler, Betts starred in baseball at Overton High in Nashville, Tenn., and his senior season (2011) was marked by poor weather. Betts had also rolled his ankle and wasn't always in the lineup, so fewer teams saw him than might have otherwise. But the Red Sox were intrigued by the tiny player with a quick, whippy swing. Quattlebaum watched his batting cage video and went to check him out after a veteran scout said, "This guy reminds me of Jeter."
"We knew that one other team was on him, and they knew that we were on him," says Quattlebaum. "And they were hiding from us."
It was the Kansas City Royals, and a Royals scout once hid in a tree to watch Betts, hoping the Red Sox wouldn't know he was there.
Betts landed in Boston at pick No. 172 and became a beloved homegrown star. Quattlebaum watched every step of his journey, from stops in Lowell, Salem and Greenville to six seasons in Boston, where he earned four all-star nods and the 2018 American League MVP, to early 2020 when Betts was dealt to the Dodgers.
"How smart were we? We waited until the fifth round, so that could've been a disaster if we didn't sign him," says Quattlebaum. "Fortunately we did, and the rest is history. Unfortunately, we couldn't keep him as he was approaching free agency, which is never pleasant when it's one of your own. But we're so proud of what he's accomplished."
The journey
Two Octobers ago, Quattlebaum stood on the field at Dodger Stadium, where the Red Sox had just wrapped up a 4-1 World Series championship. He'd seen a journeyman named Steve Pearce go on an unlikely MVP tear and watched Hill throw a Game 4 gem before the Red Sox rallied against the bullpen to set up the series clincher. After Chris Sale struck out the side in the ninth inning of Game 5 to end it, the celebration began.
Standing on the infield grass, Quattlebaum lifted the World Series trophy and smiled. He was part of a third world championship — for a franchise that, until 2004, went 86 years between titles — and knew he'd soon be getting another ring. But he'll tell you those fleeting celebratory moments are special only because of the many enduring ones it takes to get there, as prospects turn into pros and the days fold into years.
"Take the rings out of it," he says. "It's the journey."
Gus Quattlebaum '97
• 3B/RF/RHP
• Degree: History
• Vice President of Pro Scouting, Boston Red Sox
Gus Quattlebaum grew up near Boston, living and dying with the Red Sox. He now has an office at Fenway Park.
On those terms alone, it's clear the former Davidson Wildcat and current Red Sox Vice President of Pro Scouting has lived many of his baseball dreams.
The man who spent hours painting the outfield fence at Davidson now regularly overlooks the Green Monster, and he appreciates that. But he's also under significant scrutiny as a front office executive in a city that expects pro championships on the gridiron, the hardwood the ice and certainly, the diamond.
"We carry as a badge of honor that there's a lot of pressure that comes with it," says Quattlebaum, who graduated in 1997. "When things aren't going well, it's hard to drop the girls off at school, and we'll get some snide remarks at times. But when we're doing well, and we've been fortunate to have a number of World Series here, and we've won all of them (in my time), that there's no better place to be when you're winning."
Quattlebaum joined his hometown team in 2006, has been a part of Red Sox championships in 2007, 2013 and 2018 and remembers the excitement of seeing a high school standout named Mookie Betts on video for the first time.
He got his start in 1998 in player development with the Montreal Expos, then landed his first full-time scouting job with, ironically, the New York Yankees during their championship run of the late 1990s and early 2000s. He also scouted for Baltimore before landing with the Red Sox.
"He got his foot in the door at a young age, and Gus quickly impressed some pretty influential people in the game," says former Davidson coach Dick Cooke. "Clearly, he's got an aptitude and a feel for the job."
At Davidson, he played third base, right field and pitched. A two-time All-SoCon pick, he ranks among Davidson's career leaders in home runs (2nd, 35), walks (2nd, 121), slugging percentage (4th, .577) and runs scored (4th, 160).
As a freshman, he helped the Wildcats knock off No. 1 Georgia Tech, the eventual national runner-up with future big leaguers (and Red Sox players) Jason Varitek, Nomar Garciaparra and Jay Payton in the lineup. Varitek, a former all-star catcher, is now his colleague.
Cooke says he was a solid, well-rounded, consistent player for four years. Early in his senior season, Quattlebaum raised the bar with a day to remember.
6-5-6-10
The 1997 season was just getting started, but following a Saturday doubleheader, Quattlebaum was angry with himself. He had just gone 1-for-6 at home against VCU — "I didn't do anything offensively," he says — and was frustrated by his approach at the plate as the Wildcats earned a split.
With the series finale set for Sunday afternoon, he lowered his personal expectations, relaxed and … promptly delivered an historical performance.
His first four numbers in the box score reveal part of his impact that day, but even 6-5-6-10 doesn't tell the full story of Feb. 16, 1997.
Quattlebaum led the Wildcats to a 17-6 victory by going 6-for-6, with four home runs and 10 RBIs. You read that correctly: six hits, four home runs and 10 RBIs, all of which remain single-game school records, along with his 18 total bases that day. And this was against a Rams team that went on to win the Colonial Athletic Association title.
"Sometimes you just get in that zone, and it didn't matter what they were throwing," he says. "I was just on time that day."
Hitting third in the lineup as the right fielder, Quattlebaum singled in his first at-bat and gave the Wildcats the lead in the third inning with a solo home run to right. He hit a solo blast to left in the fifth and had an RBI-single in the sixth before hitting a grand slam to left center in the seventh.
In the eighth, he didn't walk to the plate. He floated.
"It's the only time I've ever tried to actually hit a home run, and it was abundantly clear on the first swing that that was not a good idea," he says. "The guy tied me up pretty good with a first-pitch fastball in. I could just tell by the way he reacted that he thought he got on me, so … I guess I guessed right, and he came back with it."
Quattlebaum launched a three-run shot to right center to cap an unforgettable outing that earned him Collegiate Baseball National Player of the Week honors.
He actually earned one more distinction that afternoon, and it had nothing to do with his bat. Eleven pitchers stepped to the rubber in the series finale, including seven for VCU. Combined, only one pitcher didn't allow a hit: Quattlebaum, who threw 1.1 innings in relief.
Examining the box score 23 years later, Cooke laughs.
"I'm wondering why the heck I pitched him when it was 17-6," he says.
A scout's life
Baseball scouting is a lot like the game itself. You're going to fail, but that just makes the triumphs even sweeter.
Quattlebaum has searched for the game's next stars at all levels and around the globe, from Latin America to Japan and in America's tiniest towns and largest cities. He's eyed overlooked, underutilized pros who could thrive in a specific Red Sox role and watched young upstarts trying to swing their way to a better life.
"The younger you go, the more you have to put your dreamer's hat on and project aggressively," he says. "To walk onto a field out of the middle of nowhere in the Dominican and say that this 14- or 15-year-old someday is going to hit in Boston, is a risky proposition. We're wrong all the time, so it's humbling. … It's hard, but extremely gratifying when you identify a player at a young age and you see him some day make the major leagues."
Once, he scouted a one-handed pitcher named Chad Bentz in Juneau, Alaska. Quattlebaum remembers watching Bentz, who eventually reached the majors with the Expos, belt a home run that day. And he remembers enjoying the company of one of the few fans in the stands, a tall, strong young man who was headed for the top of his sport as well.
"It was Carlos Boozer," says Quattlebaum. "So the things you get to see and the people you get to meet, that's the thing that scouting gives you."
Pitcher Rich Hill had been an established big leaguer, but had battled multiple injuries and was cast into a reliever's role. He wanted to return to the majors as a starter in 2015 and called Quattlebaum one night after striking out 18 in an independent league game. It led to Boston giving him a shot.
"We just brought him in because we were out of it," says Quattlebaum. "Next thing you know, he's Clayton Kershaw, and then he's facing us in the (2018) World Series."
And then there's Markus Lynn Betts, better known everywhere as Mookie.
Also a top-tier bowler, Betts starred in baseball at Overton High in Nashville, Tenn., and his senior season (2011) was marked by poor weather. Betts had also rolled his ankle and wasn't always in the lineup, so fewer teams saw him than might have otherwise. But the Red Sox were intrigued by the tiny player with a quick, whippy swing. Quattlebaum watched his batting cage video and went to check him out after a veteran scout said, "This guy reminds me of Jeter."
"We knew that one other team was on him, and they knew that we were on him," says Quattlebaum. "And they were hiding from us."
It was the Kansas City Royals, and a Royals scout once hid in a tree to watch Betts, hoping the Red Sox wouldn't know he was there.
Betts landed in Boston at pick No. 172 and became a beloved homegrown star. Quattlebaum watched every step of his journey, from stops in Lowell, Salem and Greenville to six seasons in Boston, where he earned four all-star nods and the 2018 American League MVP, to early 2020 when Betts was dealt to the Dodgers.
"How smart were we? We waited until the fifth round, so that could've been a disaster if we didn't sign him," says Quattlebaum. "Fortunately we did, and the rest is history. Unfortunately, we couldn't keep him as he was approaching free agency, which is never pleasant when it's one of your own. But we're so proud of what he's accomplished."
The journey
Two Octobers ago, Quattlebaum stood on the field at Dodger Stadium, where the Red Sox had just wrapped up a 4-1 World Series championship. He'd seen a journeyman named Steve Pearce go on an unlikely MVP tear and watched Hill throw a Game 4 gem before the Red Sox rallied against the bullpen to set up the series clincher. After Chris Sale struck out the side in the ninth inning of Game 5 to end it, the celebration began.
Standing on the infield grass, Quattlebaum lifted the World Series trophy and smiled. He was part of a third world championship — for a franchise that, until 2004, went 86 years between titles — and knew he'd soon be getting another ring. But he'll tell you those fleeting celebratory moments are special only because of the many enduring ones it takes to get there, as prospects turn into pros and the days fold into years.
"Take the rings out of it," he says. "It's the journey."
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