Orioles infield prospect Terrin Vavra and Ravens wide receiver Rashod Bateman have a friendship that began while they were training for their own sports during the COVID-19 pandemic — and Vavra is hoping to catch up soon.
The two trained at ETS Performance in Minnesota for about a month in 2020.
“There is a pretty recent relationship there. He was training with me for a while through COVID,” Vavra said on Glenn Clark Radio June 3. “I believe when he originally pulled out from the college season he was training at the same spot as me. I think his agent had a connection there. It was fun getting to know him and getting to talk a little bit. He’s from around the same area as D.L. Hall [in Georgia], so we made some connection there.”
The 6-foot-1, 200-pound Vavra is currently with Double-A Bowie. The 24-year-old is hitting .263/.413/.447 with 17 RBIs and four home runs so far this season for a Baysox team that is 25-10 entering play June 16.
A Wisconsin native, Vavra is a Packers fan and was hoping Bateman landed in Green Bay but says, “I know that [Bateman] going to embrace the city of Baltimore and represent the Ravens pretty well. He’s a talented player and a really great person, so I’m happy for him and hopefully our paths cross again soon.”
This will be Bateman’s first year on the Ravens. The 6-foot, 190-pound wide receiver was drafted out of Minnesota with the 27th overall pick. Bateman caught 147 passes for 2,395 yards and 19 touchdowns for the Gophers from 2018-2020. (Vavra went to Minnesota as well.)
What did Vavra see from Bateman that Ravens fans can be excited for?
“Well, I think you should be pretty excited because he’s a freak athletically,” Vavra said. “Everything’s so smooth, the way he can get in and out of breaks. I watched him in a limited space and it was pretty fun to watch.”
Earlier in the spring, Bateman was on Glenn Clark Radio and spoke about how excited he was to be part of the Ravens organization.
“Baltimore was in my gut and look how it turned out,” said Bateman, who added that “being in the facility, seeing the logo, seeing all the little things, just being there definitely hit me, but it was fun being surrounded by good people. It was fun.”
Bateman was asked about what he has heard from Ravens fans as well.
“I did see a lot of Baltimore fans wanting me to be in Baltimore and things like that … hopefully we can bring a Super Bowl back,” he said.
Bateman will be a key player in the Ravens offense this year. When asked for a message to give to Baltimore fans, Bateman replied, “I just want them to know that I’m really excited to get to work. I think we could do really special things in the future, so I’m excited about the future.”
Read full article here: https://pressboxonline.com/2021/06/16/how-do-orioles-prospect-terrin-vavra-ravens-wr-rashod-bateman-know-each-other/