Andrés Chaparro admits it might seem a bit weird. Yes, he wears a necklace with a photo of … himself on it. But stick with him here. There’s a greater meaning behind it.
Last season, she gifted it back to him as a reminder that she is always with him on his journey. His winding baseball path finally reached the majors this year when the Washington Nationals called him up for his major league debut Aug. 13 — two weeks after they acquired him at the trade deadline from the Arizona Diamondbacks for reliever Dylan Floro.
“I feel like this moment and me being here is not only for me, it’s for [my family],” Chaparro said through an interpreter. “They’re enjoying it just as much as I am because they know how much work we’ve put into this. And together, we’ve been able to reach this goal. They’re everything to me.”
In 17 games, Chaparro is hitting .250 with two home runs and a .774 OPS. He’s a free swinger with a big leg kick that results in a lot of swings-and-misses but can also provide a lot of power. First base and designated hitter are two positions the Nationals could look to upgrade this winter in free agency, but Chaparro, along with Juan Yepez and Joey Gallo, is helping to fill that void for now.
Chaparro’s necklace isn’t the only reminder of his baseball journey, which began in his native Venezuela. He has a lifeline tattooed on his left forearm. The front of it has a player hitting a baseball. The end of it forms into a heart. And under it reads “7-1-15,” the day he signed with the Yankees as a 16-year-old and began his professional baseball career.
In his first four seasons in the minors, Chaparro felt stuck. There were minimal improvements in his game. He didn’t hit more than seven home runs in any season.
Then the coronavirus pandemic provided Chaparro with a natural reset. There was no minor league baseball in 2020, so Chaparro went to Utah, where he resides full time. But he didn’t do much baseball activity. He trained virtually with his longtime trainer in Venezuela to improve his agility, and he followed a nutrition plan to get into better shape.
“And then 2021 came, and things just took off from there,” Chaparro said. “It helped me a lot. It helped me regroup. And I saw a big change just by focusing on myself.”
Chaparro hit 15 home runs in 2021 after he had 17 over his first four seasons. He performed well enough that the Yankees wanted to get him extended playing time that year in the Arizona Fall League.
There he met Yepez, who was drawn in right away by Chaparro’s power. Both are Venezuelan, and they share an agent, so a bond quickly formed even though they played on opposing teams at the time. And when the two went their separate ways, they kept in touch as they worked to get to the majors.
“It’s definitely tough,” said Yepez, who spent seven seasons in the minors before he debuted with the St. Louis Cardinals in 2022. “Whoever perseveres and whoever keeps going is the one that is here. So I’m very glad that he had the opportunity to be there. It’s fun to watch and fun to have a friend like that around and fellow Venezuelan.”
Chaparro sets goals to build upon each season. Back in 2021, his goal was to hit 15 home runs. He hit 15. The next season his goal was to hit 20. He hit 20. Last season his goal was to hit 25. He hit 25. But even as the power numbers grew, his big league opportunity never came. So he left the Yankees to sign with the Diamondbacks this past offseason thinking they gave him a better shot of getting to the majors. And, in a roundabout way, he was right.
After the Nationals acquired Chaparro, Yepez offered to let him stay in his apartment in Rochester, N.Y., until he got settled with his new Class AAA club. But there was no need. Chaparro was called up to Washington after just 10 games with Rochester. Chaparro’s goal this year? Thirty home runs. He is at 25 between two levels with about a month to play.
“We just keep talking to each other and being like, ‘Let’s show these people what we can do,’” Yepez said.
And as for his inspiration, Chaparro has one more reminder in his locker. An ultrasound photo sits in a frame. His girlfriend is due this month. Before a game in August, Chaparro turned and smiled at the picture. Then he looked down at his necklace.
“Now that I have a baby on the way,” Chaparro said. “I think it’s time to change the picture out and put someone else in there.”
