Like a lot of Major League Baseball players, White Sox pitcher Michael Kopech is fan of tattoos. Much of his left arm is covered in ink.
He got his first tattoo about five years ago: his number 34 on his left wrist.
“I think it’s just a lot of time you try to find your personality throughout the game,” Kopech says, “and wearing art on your skin is a way to show your personality a little bit.”
Over time, Kopech’s tattoos have gotten more personal. He almost always wears long sleeves to cover them, saying, “I don’t really want to show off my tattoos. A lot of times, I wear long sleeves during games to cover up. But, at the same time, they do have a bit of history of my growth spiritually and as a human being.”
A Sun-Times series on the stories behind body art.
A theme of spirituality is woven through most of his tattoos. Like the three cherubs that are reminiscent of religious art you’ll find, for instance, on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel at the Vatican. Each of the cherubs is meant to represent one of his three kids.
Three cherubs appear to be floating across Michael Kopech’s left arm — one for each of his three kids.
Katie Anthony / Sun-Times
Other angels are scattered across his left arm, with messages of “FAMILY” and “ROOTS” spanning their bodies.
Sox pitcher Michael Kopech in a game last month against the Miami Marlins at Guaranteed Rate Field. He took his first tattoo from his uniform number — 34.
Charles Rex Arbogast / AP
Many of the Sox players sport ink that represents their roots. In a 2022 video, third baseman Yoán Moncada showed off a giant angel on his shoulder representing his mother and script, in Spanish, on family.
José Rodriguez, 22, who made his debut with the Sox earlier this season before being sent back to the minors, has a tattoo of an anchor with the initials of each of his family members. He says that’s to remind him of his home in the Dominican Republic.
José Rodriguez, who played for the White Sox before heading back to the minors this summer, has a tattoo to represent his family as well as others representing his baseball career.
Katie Anthony / Sun-Times
Kopech calls his tattooing style “eclectic.”
“It’s not like I’m trying to get these to look cool,” he says. “I just like what I have.”
One of his tattoos is of a pine tree seen through a broken windowpane. That was a familiar scene when he was growing up in Texas, where a tree stood outside his cracked bedroom window. It also reminds him of a song by the Texas band Whiskey Myers titled “Broken Window Serenade.”
“As that group has grown and become more popular, I’ve kind of gone through baseball with them and got more established in the league,” Kopech says. “I kind of feel like I grew up with that music, and it seemed to hit home a little bit more.”
Roots and trees are common images in Michael Kopech’s tattoos, representing his family and reminding him of his home in Texas.
Katie Anthony / Sun-Times
Kopech, who’s on the injured list because of right shoulder inflammation, says getting a tattoo relaxes him. He’s even fallen asleep getting tattoos.
“I find the needle relaxing a little bit,” Kopech says. “A lot of times, we have stints from surgeries, and you gotta figure out a way to cope with it. Sometimes, that’s like therapy.”
He plans to get more ink, maybe on one of his legs. But nothing on his pitching arm.
“I’m a little paranoid about my right arm,” Kopech says.
