By Bill Sheehan
Fynn Chester is no novice when it comes to the ups and downs of baseball.
As a freshman at Salt Lake Community College in Utah, he was an all-conference selection before tearing his ulnar collateral ligament during a playoff game. He missed his second season while recovering from Tommy John surgery and his third because of the Covid-19 pandemic closures. In his fourth year, he rebounded to become the school's Pitcher of the Year and helped lead the college to the Scenic West Athletic Conference regular-season championship.
At Cal State Fullerton, the fifth-year senior from Victoria, British Columbia, started this season 7-0 before losing his last three decisions, including Saturday's game in which he exited in the second inning because of an apparent injury.
A day later, the Titans snapped an eight-game losing streak with a 9-1 victory over Long Beach State. "The win was huge. We may get knocked down, but we get up and fight. And we know how to play baseball," said the resilient Chester.
The Titans' will finish their regular season with a three-game series at Cal Poly, which begins Thursday night. Jason Dietrich, Fullerton's second-year head coach, is sticking with his one-game-at-a-time philosophy.
"We had a little rough patch and weren't playing consistent Titan baseball. That's because the guys have just been pressing and trying to do too much. On Sunday, we played well in all three elements -- pitching, offense and defense put -- and put it all together. We must keep that mindset and hopefully good things will happen," Dietrich said.
Fullerton is 29-21 and 18-9 in conference play, tied for second with UC Santa Barbara. Big West-leading UC San Diego is ahead of both teams by 1 ½ game but is ineligible for post-season play during its transition to Division 1 status.
Irvine (No. 43), UC Santa Barbara (No. 49) and Fullerton (No. 65) have the highest power rankings among Big West schools. Irvine is 35-17 overall but only has the fifth-best Big West record at 16-11.
Chester, a 6-foot-2 righthander, is hoping Fullerton will reach the NCAA post-season for the first time since 2019. "The Big West has a good chance of having three teams advance" he said.
A year ago, Chester had a solid showing in his first season at Fullerton. He made 23 appearances and six starts, finishing with a 3-1 record and a 2.30 ERA.
"Fynn had no experience in the bullpen when he got here," said Dietrich. "We had a lot of new guys, and that pen was the best spot for him to support our staff. That's how much we trusted him. And he did a good job."
In the team's opener this season, Chester pitched four scoreless innings and earned a save in an 8-1 win over Stanford, "I rarely issue walks, but I walked the first Stanford batter I faced. Then I settled down," Chester said.
Two weeks later in his next appearance, Chester picked up a win with a scoreless two-inning performance to secure a 6-5 victory over Texas. He said those two outings helped build up his confidence.
"We often say the seventh, eighth and ninth are the most important innings. Pitching in relief gave me the opportunity to showcase what I can do. For me, this is a job – something I care about. But it's important to have fun because at the end of the day, this is a game."
The 23-year-old Chester isn't regarded as a classic closer, Dietrich said, but he filled that need early in the year. "At mid-season, we had some struggles with the starting rotation. And we thought, 'Let's give Fynn a try.' "
Chester made his first 2023 start on April 7 against UC Santa Barbara. In an 8-1 win, he scattered five hits over seven scoreless innings to pick up
the victory. He won his next start, giving up one run and five hits in eight innings while striking out eight in a 13-1 victory at UC Riverside. He continued to log wins before incurring three straight defeats in May.
For the season, Chester has pitched 57 2/3 inning in 17 appearances. He has a 3.81 ERA, with 42 strikeouts and six walks.
"Last year, we had a brand-new coaching staff, and a lot of players from the year before had left. There were so many things going on," said Chester, who had signed a letter of intent with the previous Titan staff. "We finished 22-33 and lost a dozen one-run games.
"This year, getting to play is a blessing. We're doing a much better job of attacking the strike zone. We are in every game, out by out, inning by inning. It's about the journey, about the process. We are not content – we got to finish this off."
Chester has a five-pitch repertoire: a four-seam fastball, sinker, curve, cutter and changeup. He has found success with his changeup against lefthanded hitters and his sinker against righthanded hitters.
"I can throw any pitch for a strike if I need to. I like to attack and go after guys. If he beats me, I tip my cap to him."
Dietrich applauded Chester's work ethic. "His sinker has been flat the last couple of outings, which were rough. But he's a hard worker. He knows he pitches to contact and gets a ton of ground balls.
"We've been working to expand Fynn's playbook. He's very mature and has good awareness and understanding. He knows what to do and how to do it."
Chester sees himself as a lunch pail guy. "I don't strike out a lot of guys, but I don't walk a lot of guys either. I don't have amazing stuff, but I know I can get outs. I go out there with the mind frame like it's my last day of pitching."
"I think our coaches' mindset about me is, 'Let's see how many innings we can get out of him and keep going.' "
He works closely with two of his teammates – team ace Tyler Stultz and catcher Cole Urman.
"Tyler is one of the loudest, most obnoxious people you will ever meet if you don't know him. If you do, he's a teddy bear. He was a four-year juco guy like me, and we have helped each other grow as pitchers.
"Cole is arguably the best arm I've seen behind the plate. He likes to hop in our brains and find out what we are doing. I like his approach in implementing the coaches' game plan. He is trustable."
Chester recently met former Fullerton legend Damon Allen on campus. Allen quarterbacked the Titan football team to two conference championships and helped lead the 1984 baseball team to the College World Series championship.
"Stulz and I were walking back to the locker room, and we stopped to chat with him," said Chester. "I didn't know he had won Grey Cups in the Canadian Football League and had played for the B.C. Lions. I told him I was from Canada."
Growing up in the picture-postcard city of Victoria, Chester played youth baseball as well as soccer and basketball. He gave ice hockey a try but didn't enjoy it.
Chester began with Tee-ball as a 3-year-old and was coached by his father, Miles, until he was 14 years old. "My dad taught me everything I know about baseball. We used to watch Blue Jay games on TV, and he would drive us to watch the Seattle Mariners twice each summer.
At Seattle's Safeco Field, now T-Mobile Park, Fynn Chester competed in the MLB's Pitch, Hit & Run program.
Miles recalled a rare baseball moment when Chester didn't answer the bell. "Fynn was set to pitch in a Little League championship game, and I was the coach. As kids often do, he woke up that morning and said he wasn't feeling good. I said, 'You have to go out there.' He got to the ball field and threw up in the dugout. It turned out he wasn't nervous – he was sick, and he wasn't able to pitch."
Chester played several baseball positions in youth leagues, but he began focusing on pitching as a teenager. "One of his coaches told Fynn that the easiest way to go forward would be as a pitcher because every team has a
lot of pitchers," said Miles. "It helped that he loves going out there and being the center of attention."
Chester attended Lambrick Park Secondary in Victoria. As a senior, he made the Dean's List for his academic achievements.
Canadian high schools lack sports teams, so Chester played baseball for three years for the Victoria Eagles and one year for the Victoria Mariners. Chester was Rookie of the Year during his sophomore year, made Second Team All-Conference as a junior and First Team All-Conference as a senior.
While in high school, Fynn Chester pitched for the Victoria Eagles baseball club for three years.
With no scholarship offers from four-year colleges, Chester chose to attend Salt Lake Community College. He was there for four years, missing two seasons of competition because of his Tommy John surgery in 2019 and the Covid-19 closures in 2020.
Fynn Chester had to undergo Tommy John surgery while at Salt Lake Community College in Utah. He rebounded to become the school's Pitcher of the Year in 2021.
"It's not a bad thing to go to a junior college. You have to make the most of your opportunities, and it was a good experience to be off living by myself. The baseball was competitive, and I liked my coaches and teammates. [Salt Lake head coach] DG Nelson is a great coach and shares many of Coach Dietrich's qualities."
Chester believes Canadian baseball is underrated. "Canada is known for the cold, but Victoria is the hottest place in Canada. And British Columbia is a pretty good baseball region," said Chester.
"Victoria is a beautiful little Canadian city. I've heard it's been called Canada's Hawaii, but I don't think it's like Hawaii at all," he said.
Miles, whose parents emigrated from England, works for Cougar Pacific Systems as a heating, ventilation and air condition technician. Chester's mother, Roberta, has worked as a registered nurse for more than 30 years.
"She works in a hospital neuro-rehab unit. She really like helping people. And her mother was a nurse too," he said.
Chester has two older sisters who are both teachers. Wren teaches dance and English at a high school. Tabitha does home school instruction and substitute teaching at the elementary level. They are both married and have children.
Fynn Chester and his sisters Wren, left, and Tabitha visit Esquimalt Lagoon, west of Victoria, in 2018. Their dog is named Stewart.
The extended Chester family attended the win over Long Beach State on Sunday, which was Fullerton's Senior Day. "My family surprised me. It was awesome and meaningful to have all of them here."
On Senior Day, Chester Fynn is joined by Cal State Fullerton President Fram Virjee, left, Titans baseball head coach Jason Dietrich, CSF First Lady Julie Virjee, his parents Miles and Roberta, Senior Associate Athletics Director Greg Paules and his sisters Tabitha and Wren.
On Tuesday, Chester received a communication degree with a concentration in advertising. His immediate goal is to continue playing baseball on a professional level and perhaps coach He would eventually like to explore working in advertising for a private company.
Chester has enjoyed his Fullerton experiences. "When I signed, I knew I was going to a team that wasn't great. But I knew Fullerton had been a powerhouse and a consistently strong program, and that the new coaches would have that type of mentality.
"I like the way Coach Dietrich leads and what he says. He gives you a lot of ways to improve your game, especially mentally."
Chester isn't happy to have lost his last few games, but he is taking it in stride.
"So many things will hit you in life. You can either sit down and cry or get back on your feet and work hard. I've got another day, the sun is going to come up, and I am going to go back to work."