New reliever Chafin earns following on and off the field
When the A’s traded for Andrew Chafin, they got more than just another left-hander out of the bullpen.
Chafin and his bushy mustache made their debut in the visitor’s clubhouse in San Diego at about 3 p.m Tuesday, a day after Oakland acquired the 6-foot-2 reliever from the Chicago Cubs. In addition to the mustache and thick head of curly hair, Chafin brings with him a YouTube channel, a distinctive persona and a loyal following.
In other words, as manager Bob Melvin said Tuesday before the A’s began their series against the Padres, “He’s a little bit of a free spirit so he should fit in pretty well here.”
Chafin provides another high-leverage option to a bullpen group that has included Yusmeiro Petit, Jake Diekman, Lou Trivino and, of late, Sergio Romo. Chafin has an impressive 2.06 ERA and 0.84 WHIP.
But Chafin, 31, brings much more to an organization that has a long history of colorful characters.
Chafin used one of his first big-league paydays to purchase a two-hundred acre farm in northeastern Ohio. And it’s not just for show.
He’s earned his nickname: “Big Country.”
Chafin keeps a stable of horses and raises cattle in the offseason. He also leases some of it to local crop farmers and hunts on the land.
In a video visit to the farm a couple winters ago, Chafin is shown starting his day by feeding the horses — and cleaning up after them — and eventually repairing a vice in his warehouse-sized workshop.
He’s not called the “Ron Swanson of baseball” for nothing. And it’s not just the mustache.
A repair job for a measly piece of machinery is nothing to Chafin.
Among his many projects: a fan-powered boat built from scratch, a reconstructed Jeep and a total rebuild of Ford pickup truck.
“Anytime one of my buddies needs something fixed, I’m usually the first one who gets the call,” Chafin said in the video, posted by the Arizona Diamondbacks, his former team.
“I guess I’ve always had a hanker to wonder how things work. … I love tinkering on things, fixing things, breaking things.”
Chafin is more than happy
to show off his projects. He also takes you behind the scenes in other aspects of his unconventional major-league life. Find the channel on Youtube under the name “Chaffin Family Farms.”
The glamorous lifestyle that can accompany a seven-figure MLB salary never appealed to Chafin, who grew up in rural Ohio not far from his farm today. So, as he described to the Arizona Republic at the time, Chafin opted for the camper life for the 2016 season.
He showed up to spring training in a 42-foot Keystone Fuzion RV and parked it at a nearby mobile-home site. It saved him money on rent and gave him a space to call his own.
“I’m pretty simple when it comes to what I need off the field,” Chafin told the Republic. Teammate Josh Collmenter described Chafin to the Republic as “a walking country song.”
Then there was the time
Chafin needed to downsize from his truck to navigate the tight city streets of Chicago once he was traded to the Cubs last season. Did he go to a dealer and drop money on an expensive new sports car? Of course not. Chafin put out a plea on social media for a “beater” car under $2,000.
The result: a bright-red Pontiac Firebird. You can tour the “BeaterBird” on Chafin’s Youtube channel.
Chafin had another ask of Cubs fans on social media: “Where’s the best place to go do burnouts and donuts in this city?”
• The A’s sent No. 9 prospect Greg Deichmann, and outfielder, and right-handed pitcher for the low-A Stockton Ports Daniel Palencia to the Cubs. The A’s will also receive $500,000 from the Cubs in the deal, a source told his news organization.
Chafin is on a one-year deal worth $2.25 million with a $5.25 million mutual option.