Gustavo Adolfo Chacín (; born December 4, 1980) is a Venezuelan former professional

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding t ...

pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("pitches") the baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of retiring a batter, who attempts to either make contact with the pitched ball or draw ...

Career

Toronto Blue Jays

In 2004, Chacín led all minor leaguers with 18 wins, and was the 24th pitcher used by the Blue Jays, tying the team record set in the 2002 season. Chacín was the first left-handed starter to win his major league debut against the

New York Yankees The New York Yankees are an American professional baseball team based in the New York City borough of the Bronx. The Yankees compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. They are one of ...

in the

Joe Torre Joseph Paul Torre (; born July 18, 1940) is an American professional baseball executive, serving as a special assistant to the Commissioner of Baseball since 2020. He previously served in the capacity of Major League Baseball's (MLB) chief baseb ...

era (1996–2007). Chacín began with the "AA" Eastern League

New Hampshire Fisher Cats The New Hampshire Fisher Cats are a Minor League Baseball team based in Manchester, New Hampshire. The team, which plays in the Eastern League, is the Double-A affiliate of the Toronto Blue Jays major league club. During the team's first seaso ...

. He was 16–2 with 109 strikeouts and a 2.86

ERA An era is a span of time defined for the purposes of chronology or historiography, as in the regnal eras in the history of a given monarchy, a calendar era used for a given calendar, or the geological eras defined for the history of Earth. Comp ...

in innings, having earned his promotion to the "AAA" International League

Syracuse Chiefs Syracuse may refer to: Places Italy *Syracuse, Sicily, or spelled as ''Siracusa'' *Province of Syracuse United States *Syracuse, New York **East Syracuse, New York **North Syracuse, New York * Syracuse, Indiana *Syracuse, Kansas *Syracuse, Miss ...

after a 34-innings scoreless streak. With the Chiefs, Chacín posted a 2–0 record with 14 strikeouts and a 2.31 ERA in innings. Then, he was promoted to the Blue Jays and made his debut on September 20, 2004, at

Yankee Stadium Yankee Stadium is a baseball stadium located in the Bronx, New York City. It is the home field of the New York Yankees of Major League Baseball, and New York City FC of Major League Soccer. Opened in April 2009, the stadium replaced the orig ...

. Chacín allowed two earned runs on three hits over seven innings for the win, as Toronto beat the Yankees 6–3. In his second start, Chacín held the

Baltimore Orioles The Baltimore Orioles are an American professional baseball team based in Baltimore. The Orioles compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. As one of the American League's eight charter ...

to four hits and a run in seven innings, but took the loss. At the end of the season, he had compiled a 1–1 record with six strikeouts and a 2.57 ERA in 14 innings At spring training in 2005, Chacín landed a spot in the Jays' starting rotation. He jumped out to a hot start in the

American League The American League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the American League (AL), is one of two leagues that make up Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada. It developed from the Western League, a minor league ...

, earning a record of 4–1 with 18 strikeouts and a 2.41 ERA over 32.2 innings through the month of April, and was selected the American League Rookie of the Month. In July, Chacín won five of his six starts, being named Rookie of the Month for the second time in the season. Chacín pitched and won the final game of the season for the Blue Jays against the Kansas City Royals with a solid pitching line of 7.2 innings, 7 hits allowed, 1 run, 1 walk, 3 strikeouts in the 7–2 Blue Jay win. Chacín finished the season with a record of 13–9 and 3.72 ERA in 34 starts. He collected 121 strikeouts in 203 innings. He finished fifth in Rookie of the Year voting, netting two first place votes and fourteen total points, and was named to the

Topps All-Star Rookie Team The Topps All-Star Rookie Team, also known as the Topps ASRT, is a set of baseball cards issued by Topps Company, Inc., every year to commemorate notable Major League Baseball rookie players. History Since the 1960s, Topps' regular-issue basebal ...

along with fellow Blue Jay

Russ Adams Russ is a masculine given name, often a short form of Russell, and also a surname. People Given name or nickname * Russ Abbot (born 1947), British musician, comedian and actor * Russ Adams (born 1980), American retired baseball player * Russ ...

. Chacín finished his 2006 season 9–4 with a 5.05 ERA. He opened the 2007 season with Toronto, but was sent down to the minors by the end of April. In 2008, Chacín spent the entire season with Toronto's Single-A affiliate

Dunedin Blue Jays The Dunedin Blue Jays are a Minor League Baseball team of the Florida State League and are the Single-A affiliate of the Toronto Blue Jays Major League Baseball club. They are located in Dunedin, Florida, and play their home games at TD Ballpar ...

. He finished the 2008 campaign at Dunedin with a 1-7 won-loss record, and a 7.88 ERA, and was granted free agency by the Blue Jays at the conclusion of the season.

Washington Nationals & Philadelphia Phillies

Chacin signed a minor league contract with the

Washington Nationals The Washington Nationals are an American professional baseball team based in Washington, D.C.. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) East division. From 2005 to 2007, the team played in RFK Stadiu ...

on December 23, 2008, but was released by that club at the conclusion of spring training. Only a few days later, Chacin signed a minor league contract with the Philadelphia Phillies. He split the 2009 season between the

Lehigh Valley IronPigs The Lehigh Valley IronPigs are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League (IL) and the Triple-A affiliate of the Philadelphia Phillies. They are located in Allentown, Pennsylvania, and are named in reference to pig iron, used in the ...

, the Phillies' Triple-A affiliate, and their double-A affiliate in Reading, Pennsylvania, compiling a 9–5 record overall.

Houston Astros

Chacin was signed to a minor league contract by the Houston Astros on December 14, 2009. He also received an invitation to spring training. On May 3, 2010, the Astros purchased the contract of Chacin from their Class AAA affiliate

Round Rock Express The Round Rock Express are a Minor League Baseball team of the Pacific Coast League (PCL) and the Triple-A affiliate of the Texas Rangers. They are located in Round Rock, Texas, and play their home games at the Dell Diamond. The team is named ...

of the Pacific Coast League. Previously, Chacin had been exclusively a starter in the majors; with Houston, he was used exclusively as a relief pitcher. Chacín had his first major league hit in a game against the Washington Nationals on the May 31, 2010, a solo home run off Nationals starter Luis Atilano. It was his first major league plate appearance in almost five years. Chacin made 44 appearances for the Astros in 2010, all in relief. He went 2-2, with one save, and an ERA of 4.70. He did not make the 2011 club, however, and was sent down to the Triple-A

Oklahoma City RedHawks Oklahoma (; Choctaw: ; chr, ᎣᎧᎳᎰᎹ, ''Okalahoma'' ) is a state in the South Central region of the United States, bordered by Texas on the south and west, Kansas on the north, Missouri on the northeast, Arkansas on the east, New M ...

. After going 3–6 with a 5.13 ERA, he was released by the Astros organization on July 14, 2011.

New York Mets

He signed a minor league contract with the

New York Mets The New York Mets are an American professional baseball team based in the New York City borough of Queens. The Mets compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) East division. They are one of two major league ...

on July 16, 2011. The Mets assigned him to the Triple-A

Buffalo Bisons The Buffalo Bisons (known colloquially as the Herd) are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A affiliate of the Toronto Blue Jays. Located in Buffalo, New York, the team plays their home games at Sahlen ...

. He went 0–1 with the Bisons, compiling a 12.00 ERA in 15 innings of work, and was granted free agency after the season ended.

Personal life

Chacín cannot grow hair because of

alopecia areata Alopecia areata, also known as spot baldness, is a condition in which hair is lost from some or all areas of the body. Often, it results in a few bald spots on the scalp, each about the size of a coin. Psychological stress and illness are pos ...

. Gustavo Chacín and MLB pitcher Jhoulys Chacín are second cousins (once removed). A joke on Toronto sports radio station

Fan 590 CJCL (590 AM, ''Sportsnet 590 The Fan'') is a Canadian sports radio station in Toronto, Ontario. Owned and operated by Rogers Sports & Media since 2002, CJCL's studios are located at the Rogers Building at Bloor and Jarvis in downtown Toron ...

that the name Chacín sounds like it should be the name of a

cologne Cologne ( ; german: Köln ; ksh, Kölle ) is the largest city of the German western state of North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW) and the fourth-most populous city of Germany with 1.1 million inhabitants in the city proper and 3.6 millio ...

led the Blue Jays to do a "Chacín Cologne Night" on June 27, 2006. Chacín was arrested on March 16, 2007, for driving under the influence in Tampa, Florida. He was stopped by Tampa Police at 3:43 a.m. ET and booked on the misdemeanor charge. Police reports indicated that Chacín's blood alcohol level measured .150, above the legal limit of .08. The pitcher was released on a $500 bond.

References

External links

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Retrosheet
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MILB.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Chacin, Gustavo 1980 births Living people Buffalo Bisons (minor league) players Cardenales de Lara players Diablos Rojos del México players Dunedin Blue Jays players Houston Astros players Lehigh Valley IronPigs players Leones del Caracas players Long Island Ducks players Major League Baseball pitchers Major League Baseball players from Venezuela Medicine Hat Blue Jays players Mexican League baseball pitchers Navegantes del Magallanes players New Hampshire Fisher Cats players New Haven Ravens players Oklahoma City RedHawks players Sportspeople from Maracaibo Reading Phillies players Rockland Boulders players Round Rock Express players Syracuse Chiefs players Syracuse SkyChiefs players Tennessee Smokies players Tiburones de La Guaira players Toronto Blue Jays players Vaqueros Laguna players Venezuelan expatriate baseball players in Canada Venezuelan expatriate baseball players in Mexico Venezuelan expatriate baseball players in the United States World Baseball Classic players of Venezuela 2006 World Baseball Classic players