Gustavo Chacín

Gustavo Adolfo Chacín Gonzalez

• Bats Left, Throws Left
• Height 5' 11", Weight 193 lb.

• Debut September 20, 2004
• Final Game September 30, 2010
• Born December 4, 1980 in Maracaibo, Zulia, Venezuela

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Biographical Information

Gustavo Chacín was a pitcher in five big league seasons. In his finest, he was a 13 game winner.

Gustavo was born with the medical condition alopecia areata, meaning that he is unable to grow hair. He signed with the Toronto Blue Jays and scout Luis Feunmayo in 1998, reaching the bigs as a September call up in 2004. He was coming up off a fantastic season in the minors, with a record of 16-2, 2.86 in 25 starts for the AA New Hampshire Fisher Cats, earning Eastern League Pitcher of the Year honors, then added another 2 wins in as many starts with the AAA Syracuse SkyChiefs. He was a member of Toronto's starting rotation the following year and had a very good rookie season, making the 2005 Topps All-Star Rookie Team after going 13-9, 3.72 in 34 starts.

His career was almost immediately derailed shortly thereafter. He played for Venezuela in the 2006 WBC, appearing in two games with one inning pitched. During the 2006 season, he was 9-4, but with a 5.05 ERA in only 17 starts. He was arrested on March 16, 2007, in Tampa, Florida for driving under the influence. He was stopped by Tampa Police at 3:43 a.m. ET and booked on the misdemeanor charge; he was later released on a $500 bond. He only pitched 5 games for the Blue Jays that year, spending more than enough time back in the minors, going 2-1, 5.60 in 27 1/3 innings. In 2008, Chacín was all the way back down with the A ball Dunedin Blue Jays; he went 1-7 in 11 games with a sky high 7.86 ERA.

He was signed to a minor league contract by the Washington Nationals on December 23, 2008, bouncing to the Philadelphia Phillies system in April. He pitched pretty well in 2009, with a combined record of 9-4, 3.20 in 20 games between AA Reading (2 games) and AAA Lehigh Valley (18 games). In 2010, he moved to the Houston Astros and was 1-1, 3.60 in 6 games for the Round Rock Express. That earned him a call up to Houston in early May, and he spent the rest of the season in the Astros' bullpen, making 44 relief appearances with a record of 2-2, 4.70, pitching 38 1/3 innings as a LOOGY. The highlight of his season came with the bat on May 31st; in his only plate appearance of the year, he drove a pitch from Washington's Luis Atilano to the seats in right field in Minute Maid Park for a solo home run, accounting for his first and last home run and RBI. He started 2011 with the Oklahoma City RedHawks and made 27 appearances, including 9 starts, going 3-6, 5.13, then was released on July 14th. The New York Mets signed him, but he had an ERA of 12.00 in 15 innings for the Buffalo Bisons. He finished his career with stints in two independent ball circuits (2012) and the Mexican League (2013).

During his career, the Blue Jays created a "Chacín Cologne" giveaway night on June 27, 2006 after a recurring skit on the local sports radio station morning show suggested that "Chacín" sounded like a cologne. The fragrance was personally designed by Gustavo and the morning show duo.

Notable Achievements

• 2004 Pitcher of the Year Eastern League New Hampshire Fisher Cats
• 2005 Topps All-Star Rookie Team
• 200 Innings Pitched Seasons: 1 (2005)

Related Sites

• Gustavo Chacin at the SABR Bio Project
• Gustavo Chacin on mlb.com
• Minor League stats with Dunedin