Biofile Anthony DeSclafani

By Scoop Malinowski 

Status: San Francisco Giants pitcher.

DOB: April 18, 1990 In: Freehold, NJ

First Baseball Memory: “I would say getting a college scholarship, then going to the College World Series two years in a row. Those are pretty big moments in my life. Also getting drafted and making my Major League debut.” 

Baseball Inspirations: “Just to be able to compete at this level, I think. Just the fact that I get to play with the best players in the world, I think that’s kind of inspiring. I also do it for my family too. They supported me growing up. It’s great just playing for them too.” 

Current Car: “An Audi (black).” 

Last Book Read: “I can’t remember [smiles].” 

First Famous Baseball Player You Met Or Encountered: “I don’t know that, I’m not quite sure. I don’t know, I really don’t have anyone’s autograph, not from when I was a kid.  Maybe first spring training, seeing – when I was with the Blue Jays – I saw, like, Jose Bautista, he was walking around.  I thought it was pretty neat to see some of the big leaguers walk around.”

Greatest Sports Moment: “I would say getting called up, my debut – against the Dodgers. I think that was by far one of the most memorable baseball things in my career. Or complete game shutout vs. Colorado last year. Or hitting a Grand Slam against Chicago Cubs (2018) and I got the win too.” 

Most Painful Moment: “I don’t know, I try not to think of all the bad moments.  I don’t know – I’d say the most disappointing part of my career was probably my college career (University of Florida). Didn’t have the college career I wanted but then again, I also learned a lot during that time and kinda grew as a baseball and kind of matured during that time. I think that’s helped set me up for success here at pro ball. Also missing almost two years of my career due to injuries (2016-2018).”

Most Memorable Pitch: ”I would say, it would have to go to pro ball, my first strikeout, in my debut. It was a slider to Hanley Ramirez for a strike three looking. I think I’ll definitely remember that.”  

Favorite Uniforms: “I liked my college uniform, Florida was awesome. I thought LSU had some great uniforms, and also Clemson were some pretty nice, cool uniforms.” 

Embarrassing Baseball Memory: “Let’s see. Embarrassing memory – last embarrassing moment was maybe during high school when I was going to cut off a relay, tripped over the mound and fell down and like rolled across the mound. That was pretty embarrassing. That’s really the only one I can recall at this time [smiles].”

Favorite Stadiums To Play: “I like Cincinnati’s ballpark. I think the fans are great. Also had my debut in Dodgers Stadium, so I thought that was cool. I think San Francisco has a really nice ballpark. And the one that surprised me the most was the Kansas City Royals, I wasn’t expecting that. That was a pretty cool ballpark.” 

Favorite Sport Outside Baseball: “I would say football. Just what I watch when off-season comes, on Sundays, the whole family gets together, kinda watch football games. So I would say football, just because of the family gathering and stuff.” 

Three Athletes You Like To Watch & Follow: “I always liked watching Mariano Rivera.  I know it’s kind of cliched to say here in New York but I grew up in Jersey, grew up watching the Yankees. I know he’s one of the greatest closers. I like the way he always went about his business. You always see closers today get all amped up, screaming, once they get the third out of the game or something. He was dominant all the time, he wouldn’t show any emotion, he was like almost – he just showed up your ass – he was like a silent assassin. I thought it was pretty cool, that’s why I liked Rivera a lot. I like watching Zach Greinke, just because I like his delivery and stuff. Sometimes I’ll pull up videos of him, I feel like he’s so clean and simple, his mechanics – something I definitely like to watch.” 

Strangest Game: “Too many like that, I can’t think of anything… I’ve pitched in snow before in high school. I remember in one of our high school games, there was snow on the field and we actually shoveled like the whole field and then ended up playing later that day. We shoveled like for hours and then played. And I still played and pitched and all that stuff.” 

Why Do You Love Playing Baseball:  “It’s kind of what I grew up doing from day one, my dad was always supportive with it. I felt like I had success from a young age, kinda got addicted to the feeling of being able to compete at all kinds of levels. Great sport, it’s tough mentally, definitely can take a toll on your body too.” 

People Qualities Most Admired: “Just genuine. Just people that are nice, I don’t know, just Todd Frazier, anything Todd Frazier does [smiles].”