Who is the D-backs' undisputed crossword champ?

This story was excerpted from Steve Gilbert’s D-backs Beat newsletter. To read the full newsletter, click here. And subscribe to get it regularly in your inbox

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. -- Each day when he enters the D-backs' clubhouse, right-hander Zach Davies heads to his locker to change. Home or road, Davies' next stop is usually the stack of USA Today crossword puzzles that are printed out and available in every Major League clubhouse these days.

Davies will sit and work through the clues, finishing the puzzle in relatively quick fashion before leaving it on a table just in case any of his teammates need an answer key for their attempts.

Crossword puzzles provide Major League players with an outlet to pass the time in what can be a long day at the ballpark with earlier and earlier report times for night games more common.

For Davies, though, there’s more to the pursuit.

“It's part of the routine, but for me, it's like a mental check,” Davies said. “You know, if it takes me a while, if I'm lost in thought and talking to other people, I know that I need to do a little bit more that day to get myself ready and get myself locked in. But if it goes smoothly, quickly, and I kind of just get it done, then I'm ready. It just tells me I'm awake, I'm active and I'm kind of prepared for the day.”

For Davies, a pitcher who does not throw very hard, the mental aspect of the game is even more important. Making sure he is focused for when he enters the video room to scout his next opponent is important. He also finds, when he’s mentally locked in, he can more efficiently go through his physical work for the day.

The D-backs' clubhouse has a number of players who do the crossword puzzles, but they all agree that Davies is the best of the bunch, even if they want to give him a friendly hard time for the way he subtly lets them know.

“He’s No. 27 and I’m No. 31, so our lockers on the road are always close to each other,” outfielder Jake McCarthy said. “He’ll always nudge me when he leaves it out there and he’ll say, ‘The answer key is here if you need it.’ To make matters worse, his handwriting is, like, also top-notch, so he can do it in a pen and there's never any type of error. It's always perfectly written.”

Catcher Carson Kelly and left-hander Tommy Henry also give the crosswords a try on most days.

“It's pretty fun when a bunch of guys in the clubhouse are doing them and you can kind of fact-check everybody,” Kelly said.

The undisputed leader in the D-backs' clubhouse, however, resides in the coach’s room, where bullpen coach Mike Fetters is the first one to finish every day. Fetters picked up the habit decades ago when he was with the Angels and legendary coach Bobby Knoop got him started.

“Fet is by far the best,” Kelly said. “And he'll let you know that he's the best because he'll walk by, fact-check you, and be like, ‘Oh, I did it in about eight minutes this morning.’ Like wow, I'm still on the fifth one after eight minutes.”