Gary Eave

Eave played two years of Division I NCAA baseball for the Grambling State Tigers where he had an 18–6 win–loss record. He gave up no home runs and struck out 157 batters in his innings with the Tigers. ==Professional career==

Atlanta Braves The Atlanta Braves drafted Eave in the 12th round of the 1985 MLB draft. He then joined the Gulf Coast Braves, where he played 3 games before being moved up to the Sumter Braves, a Single-A team in 1986. In 1988, Eave played his first MLB season with the Braves. His first game was against the Houston Astros, who had Nolan Ryan on the mound. Eave pitched the final two innings of this game, an 8–3 loss. Eave pitched 5 innings in 5 games in his first MLB season. In 1989, Eave started three games for Atlanta, going 2–0 with a 1.31 ERA. After being traded to the Mariners, Eave spent some time playing for the Triple-A Calgary Cannons, with a 3–3 record and a 7.82 earned run average (ERA). With the Mariners, he had a 0–3 record and 4.20. Eave finished the season with the Triple-A Phoenix Firebirds. He then returned to the Mariners organization, splitting the 1991 season between bounced around between Double-A and Triple-A. In 1995, Eave was a replacement player with the Kansas City Royals in spring training during the ongoing players' strike. After the strike ended, he pitched for the independent Corpus Christi Barracudas in the Texas-Louisiana League that year. In 1998, he returned to that league, pitching for the Bayou Bullfrogs. ==Personal life==

Eave met his wife, Kathy Grimm, in a class at Grambling in 1982. Together, they had three children. Shortly after his wife's death in 2024, Eave re-enrolled at Grambling. He earned his Bachelor of Arts degree in general studies in December 2025. ==References==