Aroldis Chapman
From BR Bullpen
Aroldis Chapman de la Cruz
- Bats Left, Throws Left
- Height 6' 4", Weight 179 lb.
- Born February 28, 1988 in Holguín, Holguín Cuba
[edit] Biographical Information
Aroldis Chapman has shown flashes of brilliance in his young career but has also struggled at times. He has hit 105 mph on the radar gun.
Chapman's paternal grandfather came to Cuba from Jamaica. By and large, Afro-Cubans with English surnames are of Jamaican descent. He debuted with Holguín in the 2005-2006 Serie Nacional, going 3-5 with a 4.33 ERA. He played for Cuba in the 2006 World Junior Championship. He then put on an excellent show in the 2006-2007 Serie Nacional. He had a 4-3 record, 7 saves and a 2.77 ERA. More impressively, he struck out 100 and allowed just 59 hits in 81 1/3 innings. He led the league in strikeouts, five ahead of runner-up Adiel Palma, though he also ranked 6th in walks (50).
In the 2007 Pan American Games, he pitched one scoreless inning, struck out two for the Gold Medalists. He was a star in the 2007 Baseball World Cup, in which Cuba won Silver. He struck out 9 in 7 innings in a win over South Korea and whiffed 11 while allowing only 3 hits and a run in eight innings in the semifinal win over the Japanese national team. He was named to the tournament All-Star team as the top left-handed pitcher.
Chapman's success in international events did not carry over for the 2007-2008 Serie Nacional. Aroldis was 6-7 with a 3.89 ERA despite a .200 opponent average and 79 strikeouts in 74 innings. He tied Norberto Gonzalez for 7th in the league in strikeouts.
On December 20, 2008, Chapman broke Maels Rodríguez's record for fastest pitch in Cuban history when he reached 102 mph on the radar gun.
Chapman pitched for Cuba in the 2009 World Baseball Classic, going 0-1 with a 5.68 ERA despite 8 K's in 6 1/3 IP. He dueled Travis Blackley evenly in Cuba's 5-4 win over Australia; after 3 solid innings, he gave up a Luke Hughes double in the 4th, balked him to third and then allowed a single to Ben Risinger to tie the game at one. He got the start in a key match against Japan and hit 100 mph on the radar gun but struggled in a loss to Daisuke Matsuzaka. He helped his own cause by picking off Michihiro Ogasawara and Seiichi Uchikawa after walking them in the 2nd. In the third, he gave up singles to Kenji Johjima and Akinori Iwamura. Ichiro Suzuki bunted back to Chapman, who threw to third for a force. Yasuyuki Kataoka singled and Chapman was yanked in favor of Norberto González, who let all 3 inherited runners score.
Chapman went 11-4 with a 4.03 ERA in 2008-2009, striking out 130 in 118 1/3 IP. He led the Serie Nacional in K, 11 ahead of Yunieski Maya. He tied for 4th in wins, was 5th with 62 walks and tied for the most wild pitches (14). While Chapman won the headlines with his flame-throwing, Maikel Folch was named Cuba's best left-handed pitcher that year.
Chapman defected from Cuba just before the 2009 World Port Tournament started. He then established residency in the small European principality of Andorra, making him a free agent eligible to be signed by any Major League team. After auditioning for several teams, he signed a contract with the Cincinnati Reds on January 11, 2010, worth $30.25 million over 6 years. The deal was comparable to the package offered by the Washington Nationals to Stephen Strasburg, the top pick in the 2009 amateur draft. It is interesting to note that until he defected, his birthdate was listed as September 11, 1987; he declared a different birth date at that time, which made him six months younger.
The Reds assigned Chapman to the AAA Louisville Bats. In his Organized Baseball debut, he hit 101 mph three times on the radar gun and fanned nine in 4 2/3 IP versus the Toledo Mud Hens, allowing only one run. He gave up five singles and one walk, but Toledo manager Larry Parrish said "Today, he walked one. In the big leagues, he would've walked eight." He was 9-6 with eight saves and a 3.57 ERA for Louisville. He struck out 125 in just 95 2/3 innings and allowed a .218 average but walked 52 and threw 14 wild pitches, showing the same high-whiff, high-walk totals he had back in Cuba. He was also 4 for 10 with a double and a walk at the plate.
Chapman joined the Reds on August 31st, the last day on which he could be eligible for postseason play. In his debut, he pitched one perfect inning in relief against the Milwaukee Brewers, hitting 102 mph on the radar gun. The next day, he got his first win in The Show with another perfect inning of relief; the Reds then scored six runs in the bottom of the frame to beat the Brewers, 6-1, and topping out his fastball at 104 mph. On September 24th, he became the first hurler timed at 105 mph during a major league game. He ended the season with a 2-2 record in the majors, with a 2.03 ERA and 19 Ks (against only 9 hits) in 13 1/3 innings. He pitched twice in the NLDS against the Philadelphia Phillies, giving up three unearned runs in 1 2/3 innings and being charged with a loss.
Chapman began the 2011 season in the Reds' bullpen being the main set-up man for closer Francisco Cordero. He only gave up 6 hits in his first 13 innings over 16 games, but struggled with his control, walking 20 during that span, against 15 strikeouts, for a 6.92 ERA. On May 16th, he was placed on the disabled list with inflammation in his left shoulder. He came back on June 25th, and pitched better the rest of the way, lowering his ERA all the way down to 3.60 by the time the season ended. He finished the year with a 4-1 record in 54 games, and 1 save, having given up a mere 24 hits in 50 innings, but 41 walks. There was no doubt about his raw stuff though, as he struck out 71 batters, which represents 12.8 strikeouts per 9 innings, the same as in his first season.
He was still a set-up man for the Reds at the start of the 2012 season, in spite of Cordero having left through free agency, and his apparent replacement Ryan Madson being lost for the season to an arm injury in spring training. It was off-season acquisition Sean Marshall, who was tasked with closing out games. For his part, Aroldis pitched lights out as the year started, keeping a clean sheet over his first 17 games, during which he pitched 21 1/3 innings, allowing only 7 hits, while walking as many and striking out 38 opponents. He had picked up three wins, but had not yet had an opportunity to save a game when manager Dusty Baker gave him the ball to record the last three outs of a 5-2 win over the New York Yankees on May 20th for his first save. That just left more questions open over what his most effective role on the team should be: set-up man, closer, or even a starter, as he had been in Cuba. Just after midnight the following day, however, he made the news for a different reason, when he was arrested in Grove City, OH for driving at 93 mph on Interstate 71, and driving with a suspended license. Reds GM Walt Jocketty downplayed the arrest as a simple speeding ticket, stating that "He likes to drive his car fast". More serious was the news which surfaced the same day that a Cuban-American man now serving a 10-year jail sentence in Cuba was suing Aroldis for $18 milion; Danilo Curbelo Garcia claimed he was arrested for human trafficking based on false accusations made by Chapman in 2008, at a time he was trying to gain favors with Cuban authorities in order to be allowed to travel abroad.
[edit] Sources
- Beisbolcubano
- Baseballdecuba.com
- Radiococo
- Japanese wikipedia entry
- Cuban Institute of Sports, Physical Education and Recreation
- World Baseball Classic
- Article on MLB.com on Chapman's pro debut
