Behind the Seams: Beth McFarland

Beth McFarland is a beauty consultant from Mobile, AL. She is the girlfriend of Ethan Skender, an infielder for San Diego Padres affiliate, the Fort Wayne TinCaps.

Keep up with Beth on Instagram & Twitter!

5 Fun Facts about Beth McFarland

I am extremely good at riddles. I know, so odd. Ha!
I work for the #1 Skincare Brand, Rodan + Fields.
I do film work as a side job and was recently a stunt double for Britt Robertson in the new movie “I Still Believe”.
I’ve only owned German Shepherd dogs. So far, we have owned 5!
I grew up on a little island off the coast of Alabama called Dauphin Island but I HATE seafood. Yuck!

Q: How did you and Ethan meet?

So, as crazy as this sounds… we actually met over Instagram. We had no friends in common, so it’s crazy how we even stumbled upon each other’s profiles. We started “following” each other around February 2019 and started messaging back and forth. He was going through physical therapy in Peoria, AZ and I was back home in Mobile, AL. We decided to FaceTime one day, later in March, and stayed on the phone for like 6 HOURS, then it was all history after that!

I was already scheduled to take a trip to the Grand Canyon in May, so we decided to meet in Phoenix and go there together for our “first date”! (Epic, right?) Well, funny story with that… He picked me up from the PHX airport, where the weather was sunny and 75 degrees. We drove 3-4 hours to the Grand Canyon, just for it to be 20 degrees, snowing/sleeting/raining, and the whole top of the Grand Canyon was covered with a big CLOUD. YOU COULD NOT SEE A THING! It cleared up for about 10 minutes, just enough time for us to snap some cool pictures, then it was back to being cloudy. We decided to leave and get some Wendy’s cheeseburgers as one of our first food dates, then headed back home. It was honestly a mess, but I wouldn’t trade those memories for anything!

Q: Were you a baseball fan before you met Ethan?

I grew up all around baseball! My brother and sister played growing up, so I have always loved the sport! Being from the South, normally football is everyone’s favorite sport, but I definitely would choose baseball over any other sport! I’m an even bigger fan of it now!

Q: What’s one of the best and one of the hardest things about being a baseball girlfriend?

I’d say that one of the BEST things about being a baseball girlfriend is seeing the person you love doing what THEY love, and just seeing him in his element. It is literally the most rewarding thing ever. Seeing him pump up the team in the dugout throughout the game, interacting with fans and seeing their faces light up when he takes the time to say, “Hello! How are you?” to them, or even just watching him make a great play out on the field. It’s all just such a rewarding experience to be able to share with him! Ethan has had a very bumpy journey to where he is now, including many knee surgeries, and he went from being told he may never play the sport again, to playing in Fort Wayne, Indiana for the TinCaps just a few months ago. He truly inspires me everyday! Also, the baseball community has been amazing. I have met SO MANY friends and people throughout this journey with Ethan, that I am so thankful and blessed to cross paths with.

Ethan and Beth throughout his time in Fort Wayne

On the flip side, the HARDEST thing about being a baseball girlfriend is probably the unknown and the uncertainty of what your future, let alone next day may look like. You kinda have to just have to just live in the “now” and just go with it, and put any planning to the side. It’s difficult when there’s gatherings, weddings, or holidays to spend with family, but you just learn to work around it and just adjust! It has definitely taken some time to get used to being on “baseball’s time,” and not our own time, but I wouldn’t change a thing! I’m just enjoying being by his side through this whole journey, and cannot wait to see what’s next for him and us!

Q: Do you have a game day routine? If so, what is it?

For the most part, my game days are all the same! I normally wake up earlier than Ethan and go ahead and get ready-ish for my day. He takes like 5 minutes to get ready (typical guy *eye roll*), so when he’s up and ready, I’ll drive him to the field. We share the car whenever I am in town visiting, so he lets me keep it while he’s at the field! After I drop him off, I normally go find a Starbucks and get him a Caramel Ribbon Crunch and bring it back to him as a little pick-me-up for before the game! Then, I head back to the apartment or hotel that we’re staying at. While he’s at practice and warming up, that’s kinda my personal time to answer any messages or make any calls I need to do for work. I’m blessed to have a job that I can literally work from anywhere at anytime, so that is super helpful during baseball season! I then throw on whatever Padres gear I have laid out for that day, and head to the game about an hour before it starts! I like to try and catch him before the game, and wish him luck! Once the game is over, I go out to the car and wait on him to get showered and packed up, then swoop in and pick him up! Afterwards, we always grab a bite to eat then just head back to wherever we’re staying! This routine obviously changes a bit, depending on day games or night games, but pretty much the same routine for the most part!

Q: What’s your favorite baseball city and why?

So far, my favorite baseball city has been Fort Wayne, Indiana with the TinCaps! That has been the only city that we’ve really spend a good bit of ball time in (other than Peoria), but their stadium is so nice, everyone is so friendly, and baseball is SO LOVED there. I remember one of the first games he played there, we went back to the hotel after a late night game and got to talking with the front desk lady. She ended up being a HUGE TinCaps fan and we were able to get her and her family tickets to the game! She was SO excited! It is also the first place I got to see Ethan play in a real MILB game stadium, and I feel like it will always have a little special place in my heart!

Q: How are you and Ethan keeping busy while the season is in limbo?

I’d say we’re doing good! We both feel very blessed and thankful that our families and friends are healthy and safe, which is what matters most. Since we don’t live together, let alone fairly far away from each other (a little over 12 hours to be exact), we haven’t been able to see each other in about a month. Once Spring Training was canceled a little over a month ago, we had to fly out to our separate hometowns, unfortunately, so it’s just a “see ya soon” we’re hanging onto right now! He has a batting cage at his house and a home gym, so he has been able to stay on top of his baseball training and working out while in quarantine! He also just started “streaming” through a video game platform, which is what a lot of his fellow baseball friends are doing right now as well, and it has definitely helped him keep his mind off of the uncertainty with the upcoming baseball season. As for me, we’ve actually had amazing weather here in Alabama, so I’ve been spending a lot of time outside and working on my skincare business, like always! Honestly, Ethan and I are both big homebodies, so being forced to stay in and spend time with our family and binge watch some Netflix shows isn’t so bad after all! FaceTime dates are a MUST though!