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WHAT DRIVES ANDREW CHAFIN? The D-backs reliever is fi nding solace in his car and horses

Haley Smilow >> The Entertainer! W ith professional baseball looking like it may not return for a while, Diamondbacks relief pitcher Andrew Chafi n is taking the time to improve his game and spend time with family.

“My consistency, I feel you can always get better in that regard,” Chafi n says.

After a rough campaign in the 2019 season, Chafi n is using the quarantine as time to work on his eff ectiveness and pitch location. After the 2019 season, with a 3.76 ERA, Chafi n is looking to bring down his ERA whenever baseball starts.

While he’s not out on the diamond every day, baseball is still the main thing on Chafi n’s mind. He was excited to talk about why, for him, having a nine-pitch, three-strikeout inning is better than a three-pitch, three-out inning. “A lot of it comes down to being a reliever,” he says. “If I was still a starter, I might give a diff erent answer.”

Not only does Chafi n miss the games, but he’s longing for the traveling and sightseeing he gets to do as professional.

“I love playing at Coors Field (Colorado) and Oracle Park (San Francisco),” he says. “I feel like I always play well in Denver. My pitches always seem to do a little bit better there. Another one of my favorite places to play is San Francisco, because we warm up right in front of the stands and the fans are always teasing you and making funny noises and doing that kind of stuff. It’s a good time there.”

Unlike most of us, Chafi n has eschewed Netfl ix. Instead, Chafi n has been spending time with his daughter and wife, and doing chores around his house in Ohio, where he raises horses. He also hunts and fi shes.

“If I wasn’t playing pro ball, I’d probably be a mechanic or a fabricator working in some sort of shop building things,” he says.

He has his own shop where he tinkers with things. His most ambitious project was his old Ford Ranger. Before the quarantine he met with his mechanic, had a fl atbed attached to his car and swapped out the fuel tank for a diesel tank. After the quarantine, he wants to trick out the vehicle further, but the plans are a secret, he says.