CLEVELAND — Indians pitcher Aaron Civale has more than impressed since being called up to the big leagues last summer, posting a 2.47 ERA in 13 starts.
But what does the 25-year-old like to do when he's not toeing the rubber? To find out, 3News' Dave Chudowsky sat down with him for the latest edition of "Beyond the Dugout"!
NOTE: These interviews too place during Spring Training in Goodyear, Arizona, before the onset of the coronavirus pandemic. That's why you will not see any masks or social distancing.
Chudowsky: These questions, they can get pretty tough. I mean, I'll give you this opportunity to walk away if you want to.
Civale: No, we're good.
Chudowsky: You're all right?
Civale: Yeah, I’ll try
Chudowsky: All right...What was your favorite sport as a kid? Was it baseball, or something else?
Civale: It's always [been] baseball. I always wanted to play whatever my older brother was playing. His favorite sport growing up was basketball, but since I was probably about four baseball's always been my favorite.
Chudowsky: Favorite hobby.
Civale: That'd have to be either cooking or video games.
Chudowsky: Okay, favorite video game.
Civale: "Call of Duty" is always a good game to play. I’ve been playing "Assassin's Creed" a lot recently.
Chudowsky: Do you play with a lot of your teammates?
Civale: Yeah, every once in a while.
Chudowsky: Like, can't you be in one room and they're in another house?
Civale: Yeah, definitely. It's helped stay connected some guys throughout the off season or whatnot.
Chudowsky: Is there a teammate you play with the most?
Civale: I play one of the kids I work out with in the off-season. [He's] with the Marlins organization, Sterling Sharp. I play "Call of Duty" with him pretty frequently, "Fortnite" every once in a while.
Chudowsky: And you said cooking as well. What's your favorite dish?
Civale: Kind of just look stuff up and get the ingredients and try it. I enjoy making steak tips
Chudowsky: Anything you tried to make that you really failed at?
Civale: I'm not very good at cooking chicken. I let my fiance do that. For whatever reason, I just haven't figured out chicken. It's too rubbery whenever I cook it.
Chudowsky: So, getting married when?
Civale: No date yet.
Chudowsky: No date!
Civale: Recently engaged.
Chudowsky: Congratulations!
Civale: Thank you!
Chudowsky: All right. Obviously she said yes, so that's half the battle.
Civale: (laughs) Yes.
Chudowsky: Best present she’s ever gotten you.
Civale: January was six years [since we've been together], so there's been quite a few.
Chudowsky: That's what I do here, I like to dig deep. You know what I mean?
Civale: Yeah, I don’t know if there is one best one.
Chudowsky: Is there one maybe that you can remember giving her that you're like, "Yeah, man. "I nailed it"?
Civale: I mean, other than the ring? (laughs)
Chudowsky: (laughs) Yeah, that’s right. What was I thinking?...Let's end on this: Tell Cleveland something about yourself that nobody knows that they should know?
Civale: (thinks for a while) mmm…uh… I mean…
Chudowsky: You're going to win 20 games this year, how about that?
Civale: (laughs) I don't have anything for you for that one.