Off Season, The Series: MLB Athlete Chris Paddack

Some people were born on third base and go through life thinking they hit a triple. MLB starting pitcher Chris Paddack is not one of those people. Raised by a single mother who worked 16-hour shifts at a hair salon and made sure her three boys ate before she even thought about food, Paddack is no stranger to adversity. In fact, his idea of childhood privilege was growing up with two older brothers he could lean on. He wasn’t born into success; he works for it. And there isn’t a day that goes by that he doesn’t remind himself that he’s not stopping. “I have two-thirty-six tattooed on the side of my ribs because two hundred thirty-five people were picked before me in the draft.” Even after suffering a career-ending injury and not touching a baseball for twenty-two months, being away from a game he has played since before he could walk, that tattoo served as a constant reminder that he is not done. “When I would see my tattoo in the mirror during rehab, it reminded me that I still have a story to tell. I still have a dream to chase.” But he isn’t chasing that dream for himself; he’s doing it for his family. They are his primary motivation—they are his why.