The distance between New York and Miami by car is 1,285 miles. To be precise, the trip without stopping on I-95N would take 18 hours and 54 minutes. Pitcher Robert Evans did not make the trip, but a flight took him to Coral Gables with plans to play as a starter for the Miami Hurricanes in the upcoming baseball season.
The 2024 MLB Draft saw the Hurricanes lose the top three pitchers on their roster: Reese Schlesinger, Gage Ziehl and Brian Walters. Evans entered the transfer portal after a successful year as a pitcher at Georgia State and knows this is a great opportunity. Additionally, he knows the competition will be tough, especially with four more pitchers joining him from the portal.
Growing up in a concrete jungle* neighborhood in Harlem, New York, he knew nothing but competition. This challenge fueled his competitive spirit and his drive to earn a place on the team.
*Concrete jungle: a modern city or urban area full of large buildings, considered a particularly competitive, unwelcoming, or dangerous place – Merriam-Webster Dictionary
Growing up in New York City’s public housing isn’t the easiest thing to do. Evans and his family of eight had the same experience.
Family is the most important thing in Evans’ life, next to God and baseball. He has built an everlasting bond with them and some of his fondest memories come from playing baseball on a concrete field near his home. That field also helped foster and deepen his love for this true American sport.
Of course, playing baseball on concrete leaves scars and bruises, but Evans never minded playing on concrete. It just made him a tougher player who thrived in that environment.
“I was always scared. I would run around, fall, be clumsy. Sometimes I would just slip. I really didn’t care,” Evans said. “My dad would always say something like, ‘What’s wrong with you?’ I was just happy to be out there.”
Evans explained that although baseball is a popular sport in New York, it is not publicly funded, meaning that good playing fields are difficult to access or too far for him and his family to travel to.
It also gave him a lot of toughness. Evans has played on any good court, but the concrete court allowed him to be free.
“It prepares you for a lot of things. I’ve played on so many bad surfaces, but on this concrete field, the painted lines had faded and you were just running around freely and doing God knows what on the field. There was a road right behind it and it was unbelievable,” Evans said.
After winning many Concrete World Series, he naturally started playing for his high school team and travel ball in his early teens. During this time, he began to get noticed by MLB recruits and scouts. Coming out of New York, he was a top-five recruit and one of the best pitchers in his class. However, he did not finish his high school career in NY. He spent his junior and senior years playing in South Carolina. Then NC State took notice of him and offered him a scholarship.
It was a dream come true, especially considering the sacrifices his family had to make to put him in that position. Evans committed and was a month away from becoming a Wolfpack before deciding another path was best for him. He committed to play for Chipola College in Florida, where he spent a year maturing as a person and a player.
He knew his junior college endeavor was only a one-year deal, but this was the beginning of his path to becoming a Hurricane. While in junior college, he was selected in the lower rounds of the MLB draft. He received official offers from the Chicago Cubs and Seattle Mariners, but knew there was more for him to do.
“I thought I could definitely get drafted JUCO out of high school. I got the offer, but it just wasn’t what I wanted,” Evans said. “It wasn’t a problem. Me, my agent, my mom and dad all prepared us for it. I wanted to play professional baseball as soon as possible, but now that I look back, I’m glad I did those two extra years of college. I feel like it prepared me to be a good pro, not just a pro.”
That led to him playing his only season for Georgia State. Evans started the season off brightly, but suffered an injury that many at the facility didn’t mention. He suffered a broken elbow, but continued playing until a breaking ball ended his season early. When he realized that in the dugout, tears streamed from his eyes, but he never regretted playing and enduring the pain despite his injury.
During this time, he remembered the challenges and struggles his mother had to go through when she found out she was ill. His friendship and love for his mother is the reason he is the man he is today and why he continued playing despite his injury.
“I just love to fight. I’ve always believed in myself, I’ve always banked on myself,” Evans said. “The last few years I’ve had to fight and dig deep. It really has to do with my mom. She fought breast cancer for three and a half years, probably five to be honest. Now I’m completely healthy and that woman fought harder than anyone else.”
Evans continued.
“She’s done so much for me and my family. I raised six kids with my dad, but you could really say my mom is the full-time mom. She’s a supermom. She does everything. Even when she was sick, she would drive me to the sports fields and baseball games. I’ve taken that with me and always carry it on my shoulder because people don’t really understand, but it’s one of those things that just motivates you inside. If my mom could overcome breast cancer, who’s to say I can’t overcome a little bit of elbow pain,” Evans said.
His play through earned him this opportunity with the Canes. The left-handed pitcher underwent clean and simple surgery in the offseason and is completely healthy. He has high expectations for himself and that belief in himself will help him have the best season of his career.
“My expectation is to be drafted in the first round (1-5). There are no ifs and buts. I’m going to work and do what I have to do. I’m going to do everything I can on the field and off the field. I’m going to be as much of a leader as I can,” Evans said. “I just want to be the best Rob Evans. I feel like I’ve been a good Rob Evans the last two years of my life, but I’m not at my peak yet. I think this year is the best year and I’m not going to stop until I get there.”
Evans knows this is the most important year of his life and he will not pass up this opportunity to play at the highest level for himself or the Hurricanes.
“At the end of the day, this is the biggest year of my life. It’s a big year not only for me, but for the program. After a year where the team didn’t have success and a lot of guys came in, this is a year where we have to prove it and I want to be part of the guys that get to prove it and say Omaha,” Evans said.
