Jake Arrieta gets regrettable tattoo to pay off bet with teammate

Don’t make a bet unless you’re prepared to follow through on the consequences. Chicago Cubs pitcher Jake Arrieta is a man of his word, and he has the ink to prove it.

Arrieta followed up on a College World Series bet he made with teammate Tommy La Stella back in June. Their two teams, TCU and Coastal Carolina, wound up facing each other in the College World Series. With a trip to the championship game on the line, La Stella and Arrieta decided to make a wager on the outcome of the game: If your school lost, you had to get a tattoo of the other school’s logo.

Once you get a look at Arrieta’s tattoo, you’ll know the outcome of that game.

Yeah, Coastal Carolina came out on top. They jumped all over TCU’s pitching early, and held off a late comeback attempt, winning the game 7-5. Arrieta, a TCU alum, lost the bet. Coastal Carolina would go on to win the whole thing, defeating Arizona in the best of three series.

Despite the loss, Arrieta seems to be handling everything pretty well. Back in June, he said he would “wear [the tattoo] proudly” as TCU “lost fair and square.” Even though he could have secretly paid up on the bet, Arrieta decided to let the public know about his new tattoo.

That’s some pretty good sportsmanship, especially considering the high stakes involved here. Then again, how can you expect Arrieta to be mad? He’s a World Series champ. An unwanted tattoo isn’t going to ruin the excitement that comes with breaking a 108-year curse.

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Chris Cwik is a writer for Big League Stew on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at christophercwik@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter! Follow @Chris_Cwik