JUPITER, Fla. – “The Sheriff” is ready to turn heads in Miami.
Marlins veteran right-hander Chris Paddack, who was given that nickname by Padres fans during his rookie season, will continue wearing his full cowboy get-up on start days.
With the return of Spring Training, what better way for fans to get to know the newcomers both on and off the field than through a fun Q&A? In this installment, we catch up with Paddack.
MLB.com: Do you consider yourself a cowboy?
Paddack: Not a cowboy, unfortunately, as much as I would like to be one. That name is earned. Those guys that are true cowboys, their workday looks a little different than mine. They're keeping livestock healthy for us to be able to harvest and put in the freezers. I do have some cows. I have six of them back home, but not 600. I let them free roam. I can shake a bag and they'll come running.
I know how to sling a rope a little bit, but not very educated on horseback, due to our season and health. … Now, when I retire, I would love to get into that lifestyle. I really do enjoy it. I have some buddies that rope and are in rodeo and travel all over the world doing that stuff. So, to answer your question, more of a rancher. I would say I'm a rancher, not a cowboy.
MLB.com: What else do you have on this ranch?
Paddack: Four working dogs: two black labs for my duck hunting stuff, [German Shorthaired Pointers] for duck hunting as well as pheasants. And then my border collie. … My mom stays out there full-time and does all the hobbies and chores for me whenever I'm gone playing ball. Without her, I wouldn't be able to have the ranch, so shout-out to my mom, who does a really good job. I have some buddies back home who help around the property when I'm gone as well.
Very blessed that I grew up in that country, hunting, fishing, outdoors lifestyle, because it's not for everybody. But when you get to experience it, a lot of people never want to go back as far as to the city. They want to stay in the outdoors and be with nature and just kind of be off the grid. You realize the small things in life that matter: family, friends, just being able to live to the fullest. Don't have to worry about noise. You get to do your own thing.
MLB.com: How’s the fishing been in Florida?
Paddack: It's been good. ‘A bad day on the water beats a good day at work.’ I love baseball. I love our job, but that's why I bring my boat. On off-days, days that I'm able to get out of the field a little earlier, I go escape, go be ‘Chris,’ and go enjoy what is a happy place for me. … I bring my bass boat from Texas. I go to Lake Okeechobee. For anybody who loves bass fishing, that lake is overwhelming, because everything looks very fishy. You think you should be able to catch a fish every spot that you go, [but I] got skunked the first couple times, which is very humbling, because I consider myself a decent fisherman. I finally got a couple in the boat the last couple times I've gone out. The biggest I've gotten so far in spring is six and a half pounds.
MLB.com: Baseball cap, cowboy hat. Do you ever go without a hat?
Paddack: Sometimes I'll let the mullet flow, but majority of the time, I'm in a ballcap or a cowboy hat, especially being at the field. Baseball takes up most of our time in the day, and I'm at workouts sometimes without a hat. But even then, it feels a little weird.
MLB.com: Is it possible for it to be too hot for the full get-up of hat and boots?
Paddack: You've got to sacrifice to look good. That's what I tell people. There is a felt season and a straw season. I try and follow the book: It's usually Labor Day until Easter for felt season. And then, late spring, early summer transitions into the straw season. That makes a huge difference. … Everything else, it's part of the western look: the starch jeans, the boots, the button-down long sleeves.
MLB.com: How many boots and hats do you own?
Paddack: 15 pairs. I probably have close to seven or eight hats.