Chad Chiffin (Transcript)

Robby Incmikoski: Hey, first of all, can you say—can you explain—I know what you do, okay? But when I ask this, I want fans who don't realize what goes on behind the scenes to know what you do. So, could you just explain, first of all, what your position is and what it is you’ve done for the Diamondbacks for 25 years?

Chad Chiffin: My title is Clubhouse Assistant. I started working in the minor leagues for the Diamondbacks down in Tucson. They let me come up and help out in September or whenever I had time. And fortunately, I got to be up there for the 2001 World Series, and then I was hired full-time that offseason. My title is Clubhouse Assistant, but the simplest way I can describe my job is it’s a cross between a concierge and a parent. That’s the best way I can describe it, because you never know what you might be doing one day.

My job is to make the coaches’ jobs easier—the front office, medical staff—that’s our group. Our role is just that: keep everybody else from having to do all the little things that would cause them obstacles in the day and not allow them to perform their jobs at the peak level.

Robby Incmikoski: It’s interesting, and I think a lot of people—we know how valuable a guy like you is. And the friendships and the relationships and everything that comes from the game of baseball—shoot, when I go to Arizona, I stay at your house, right? And every time you come to Pittsburgh, we hang out, get dinner. You brought me to dinners.

My question—actually, that reminds me, I would love to get Gonzo for this, by the way—to put your and Gonzo’s stories in there. That would be tremendous. I don’t know why I didn’t even think of that.

Tiff, how do you—well, I hope I ask this correctly. And that’s why I wanted you, because you’re a big personality and a funny dude. Not just anybody can do this job. Some people can look at it like it’s grunt work, or it’s laundry, it’s this or it’s that—but you have to have elite people skills to do a job like this. Because you have to relate to everyone—from people with a hundred million in the bank account to people with a hundred dollars in the bank account. You have to be able to relate to anyone. Where do skills like that thrive in a clubhouse, plane, hotel, ballpark environment? How do people that do your job develop those skills?

Chad Chiffin: A lot of failure. A lot of getting things wrong and learning from your mistakes and just getting better—trying to. If that’s your motivation—to be better at it every day—then that, for me, is what got me through. I mean, I spent nine years in the minor leagues, and it was a grind. Every year I kept wondering—do I go back out, do something else, or do I keep doing it? But I kept moving up, and I got into better situations, and that made it a lot more encouraging. I got to some nicer cities, so that helped out a lot. I mean, when you’re in Scottsdale versus Burlington, Iowa, it’s a little bit of an improvement there. So it was something to look forward to and work for.

Robby Incmikoski: You don’t just forget your nine years in the minors. Do you remember what years and where were you?

Chad Chiffin: I’ll never forget them. ’93, my beloved hometown—Jamestown, New York—for an Expos affiliate.

Robby Incmikoski: Where were you? Tell us.

Chad Chiffin: That was the Expos. That was the last year the Expos were there. Then ’94—

Robby Incmikoski: But they were called the Jamestown Jammers, right?

Chad Chiffin: No, they were called the Expos. The Jammers didn’t come in until the next year. And I actually never did clubhouse work for them. I did group sales and outfield sign sales in the offseason for them when I would come home for the winter.

But ’94—Burlington, Iowa. Also an Expos affiliate. I loved the group I was with so much, I followed them to the next level.

Robby Incmikoski: What were they called? What was the name of the team?

Chad Chiffin: They were the Burlington Bees. Yeah.

Robby Incmikoski: Okay—still are.

Chad Chiffin: I think they got cut, finally, when they downsized the minors. They might be a college team now. Of the six teams I worked for, I think there’s only two left.

Robby Incmikoski: That’s wild.

Chad Chiffin: Then I went to the New Haven Ravens. That was my first job right after college—I worked in the visiting clubhouse. I left there, did two years in Richmond for the Braves, ran the visiting clubhouse there. Obviously, an interesting couple of years as well. Then the next year I went to Durham—the first year the Rays had a team there. That was ’98. Then in ’99, I made my way west. I had been working the Arizona Fall League since ’95, and then an opportunity came up to be in one state for at least nine months of the year, as opposed to going to Florida for spring training, somewhere else for the season, Arizona for the fall, and spending winter substitute teaching in my hometown.

Robby Incmikoski: That’s impressive. So now I want to get into some of the details here. We heard Jody Jackson tell us yesterday what the experience was like in 2001—waiting as a reporter to go cover the team and do the interviews when they won the World Series. She talked about what the experience was like last year, obviously, with the Diamondbacks. They didn’t win the World Series, but it was still a memorable season—to be National League champions and in another playoff chase. It’s a pretty cool experience.

But tell us—in 2001, what do you remember from that team winning the World Series, and where were you when all that went down?

Chad Chiffin: That was an older team. We had a lot of those guys down on rehab during the season in Tucson. I think I counted 12 guys who, at some point, played for us—either going up and down or coming down on rehab assignments.

To the point where Tony Womack was in our team photo. A couple other guys too. So, it’s kind of funny. They had been down a lot. Bobby Witt Jr.'s dad was down with us for three weeks. Mike Morgan. I mean, we had all these guys down throughout the year. So I knew them all pretty well, and I’d been around for a couple years.

Fortunately, when I came up to work the Fall League, my boss said, “You can work the whole playoffs with us if you’re available.” And I said, “Absolutely.”

As far as where I was when Gonzo’s ball landed—I'm very superstitious, as most people in this game are. I remember dreading having to go back to New York for the offseason because my hometown paper had written articles about me, and I had a lot of Yankees fan friends back there. I was going to have to hear about it. I’m like, “I’m so close!” And what a heck of a series this was.

I went to the coaches’ room bathroom, and I watched us win it from there. Then we started running out to get everything ready. But yeah, I had to change spots, and that’s where I watched it from.

Robby Incmikoski: So you were in the coaches’ room bathroom when Game 7 was happening?

Chad Chiffin: When the ninth started, yeah. That was my lucky spot for that inning, and it worked out all right.

Robby Incmikoski: Why was that your lucky spot?

Chad Chiffin: Just trying something different. Nothing else had worked. Got to do something here. I’m not going to take credit for it, but for me, that was the spot. I’ll never forget being in that spot. You could actually see the TV from there, and I watched it, pacing and moving around a lot.

Robby Incmikoski: That’s incredible. Here’s what I really want fans to see. So, you’re admittedly a superstitious guy. What is the process like, Chip, of having the champagne and beer ready—waiting outside versus setting it up—because that game could’ve gone either way?

Chad Chiffin: Yeah, that’s about as...

Robby Incmikoski: Tell me. Take us inside. What’s that like? How do you set up for that?

Chad Chiffin: The good thing in a Game 7 situation is it’s going to go to one side or the other. So a lot of it is already ready to roll and just gets moved down there. I know in that situation, there was a lot more scrambling over in the other clubhouse than ours, because they had to get stuff out of there real quick.

Robby Incmikoski: Really? Was that at the instruction of the Yankees?

Chad Chiffin: You’ve got to have it gone. You don’t want them walking in from losing Game 7 and there’s plastic up, stage built, and everything else. So yeah, they kind of do a lot of scrambling over there for that. But yeah...

Robby Incmikoski: Why’d you do it on your side?

Chad Chiffin: So we had to get it all up then in order for the guys to come in and celebrate—because we went into the inning losing.

Robby Incmikoski: Yeah, it was 2–1. That’s right. I forgot that. I’m looking at this box score. So the bottom of the eighth—Diamondbacks, Yankees didn’t score. Top of the ninth, down 2–1, and that was when Gonzo hit the walk-off.

Chad Chiffin: Yep. You’re going into the inning down 2–1.

Robby Incmikoski: The game-tying hit was Tony Womack’s double, right?

Chad Chiffin: Yes, and we scored with Midre Cummings, who had been with me in Tucson all year.

Robby Incmikoski: That’s right—former Pirate, Midre Cummings.

Chad Chiffin: Yes.

Robby Incmikoski: Okay, go ahead.

Chad Chiffin: So, you have a little time, but it’s still a scramble. If it’s a close game, you don’t know when to put that plastic up, and it’s not quick. But I’ve seen some guys around the league come up with some really good ways. Milwaukee had it already up on PVC pipe with zip ties. All they had to do was cut the zip ties to lay it down. Same with Philly this past year. I’d always seen that—when Philly went to the World Series in ’09, I think it was, when they beat the Rays. I remember going there as a visitor and seeing how they did that. Thinking, “It’d be really cool to celebrate in this clubhouse someday.” And then finally got to do it last year.

Robby Incmikoski: We’ll get to that finish too. Let’s finish the ’01 story first. Go ahead.

Chad Chiffin: Yeah, so we had some time. We just rolled the buckets of beer and champagne out and got it ready. Then we went out and started cleaning up the field. I still remember looking out there and seeing all 48,000 pom-poms going and going, thinking, “Wow. We really just beat Mariano Rivera. Hey, wow. That’s pretty crazy.”

Robby Incmikoski: And then, once that’s done, what is the cleanup like after the celebration?

Chad Chiffin: We’re lucky that the stadium services people come in and take care of that. And I’ve got a cart guy ready with a cart right away. We’re cleaning up as well, but not as much. I’m really thankful for the people that do that at our stadium—they do a great job. In some of the past celebrations in more recent years, we’ve put a tarp down and used that to keep the carpet from getting nailed. We’ve come up with a couple different ways to save some cleanup.

Robby Incmikoski: Right. I’m looking at something right now—I’m just drawing a blank. You guys won the Wild Card, you won—was that Milwaukee, right? Because you clinched all three on the road last year, Chip?

Chad Chiffin: No, we clinched going to the playoffs at home.

Robby Incmikoski: Not that one.

Chad Chiffin: We clinched at Milwaukee. And clinched against L.A. at home.

Robby Incmikoski: Okay, that was in Arizona. Which takes me to both sides. What is it like being on both sides? You were with the team in Philadelphia when you won the National League last year. Then you were in Arizona when the Rangers won in five games to win the World Series. What was that like—being able to celebrate in Philadelphia and then watch another team celebrate a World Series title in your place? How do you contrast the two experiences?

Chad Chiffin: You’re happy for your colleagues on the other team. At the same time, you have empathy for the guys who are watching you celebrate—and it comes around. I’m happy when guys I’ve known for years get to do that. One of the nice things this year was, we had so many people come up and say, “Hey, I’m real happy for you guys getting here,” because they know we’ve got a fairly older clubhouse staff that’s been around a while. That’s got a lot to do with it too. So that was nice—just hearing from people you never hear from. I had 350 text messages I had to return after beating Philly.

It was a fun experience. I love my counterparts in the other clubhouse—they’re one of my favorite groups. Like I said, you have empathy for them, for sure, but it all works out different every year.

Robby Incmikoski: Yep. If I were to ask a player, they would certainly describe the value that you provide—Chip, personally—but you guys as a group, as clubhouse assistants. What kind of value do you guys feel you provide to the team—coaches, players, trainers, everyone?

Chad Chiffin: Like I said—I think the key is, we’re not just one guy doing everything. We’re a group. And the goal is, they don’t have to worry about anything. That’s what I want. Everything’s taken care of for them. “You need this taken care of? It’s done.” That’s what I take pride in—knowing they can trust us, that they know it’s going to get done. They don’t have to sit there and wonder, “Did he get this done? Did he get that done?”

Robby Incmikoski: As far as setting up—so at the Dodgers?

Chad Chiffin: Crazy. That was fun. We totally didn’t expect to win that one. Just go there and end up sweeping them? I mean, wow. You really did this. And celebrating at home is great, because all the guys go jump in the pool. You’ve got more family around, more friends, all that.

One of my coworkers—he was a bat boy with us, now he’s a clubbie—the one year he was gone was 2017, when we went to the playoffs. We’d never gone to the playoffs since he’d worked for us. So it was great to see that. His dad’s a season ticket holder, so I said, “Hey, get your dad down on the field here.” He got to come down and celebrate on the field with us. That’s the kind of stuff you love seeing—just getting to enjoy it with the people you’ve been putting the grind in with.

Robby Incmikoski: When the Dodgers clinched the playoffs—I forget if it was the playoffs—but they celebrated in the pool. I’m not looking for you to say anything controversial or anything like that, but how much is that like, “Dude... come on. This is our facility”?

Chad Chiffin: I’m just gonna leave that one.

Robby Incmikoski: I don’t blame you.

Chad Chiffin: That was a long time ago. I don’t even think about that one.

Robby Incmikoski: No problem. And it stays out. We’re not playing a game of gotcha. So don’t worry—it’s not going anywhere.

The experience of being a clubhouse guy at Chase Field for 25 years—how would you describe that facility to people who’ve never been?

Chad Chiffin: (pauses) I mean... I don’t know. I’m trying to think. I’ll leave that one too.

Robby Incmikoski: It’s okay. The only reason why is because this book is going to appeal to people who haven’t had a chance to see ballparks. They’re going to see photos, hear stories about the ballpark. That’s kind of where I was going. Because Jody talked about—actually, I’ll ask you the same question:

What is it like watching this team develop a fan base in a state and a city with so many transplants? Very few people are from Arizona. Everybody goes there because it’s beautiful, there’s golf, you never freeze out, it’s never cold—it’s just a beautiful place to live, and everybody agrees with that. But at the same time, it’s hard to create a solid fan base. What is it like watching this team develop that fan base?

Chad Chiffin: It’s great. I take great pride in seeing that around town. So many kids and people wearing our hats and t-shirts, rooting for us, being big fans. When I go places and they see me, they might know what I do—they have great things to say, they’re supportive, all of that.

I won’t call this a regret or anything, but when we won Game 7 in Philly, we went right to Dallas. By the time we got here, it was already Game 3. So I never got to feel what it was like around town. I wasn’t listening to local radio or seeing people or seeing how it was around here. That was one of the differences between ’01 and last year. We were on the road a lot. By the time we played Game 3 of the World Series, we’d only played four games at home. So yeah, that was a little weird.

Robby Incmikoski: Wow. How much was the town buzzing?

Chad Chiffin: A lot. A lot. And it was great. Like I said, I just didn’t hear how much support there was. My friends who live here told me everyone was buzzing. Right now I’ve been hearing nothing but great things. We’re playing pretty well—knock on wood—so just hearing all that has been pretty cool. It’s been nice to keep that going. And to have people—kids—who’ve only known us as being in town, who were born from ’98 on, or mid-’90s, and they’ve only ever known the D-backs.

Robby Incmikoski: Right. Last question—what is it like working at a ballpark that has a pool? How unique is that?

Chad Chiffin: Really cool. I had never gone out there for a long time. And when I finally did, I thought, “This is great. This is really cool.” I had another friend who worked here for a long time, and somehow he got a ticket to go to the pool that night. He goes, “This is awesome.” I mean, you’re in a pool at a ballpark. Where else do you get to do that? I love it. I think it’s one of the coolest features of our ballpark.

Robby Incmikoski: I lied—one more question. How do you describe Luis Gonzalez?

Chad Chiffin: One word: better. He’s absolutely the best. You go around town with him—everybody says hi. He’s right there, signing autographs or taking a picture with anybody who wants to. It’s been that way since the beginning.

I remember trying to go to dinner after the World Series in 2002, and people were lining up waiting. He signed every one. Never had any issues with anybody. It’s just incredible.

Robby Incmikoski: Good, good. You are the man, Chip. I appreciate it. And all that stuff—like with the ballpark—don’t sweat it. It’s good.

Chad Chiffin: Yeah, I just rather...

Robby Incmikoski: Nope. We’re going to halt the recording. I want to hear the pool story now—after we stop recording.