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{{MedalSilver| [[2007 Baseball World Cup|2007 Taipei]] | [[Cuba national baseball team|Team]]}}
{{MedalSilver| [[2007 Baseball World Cup|2007 Taipei]] | [[Cuba national baseball team|Team]]}}
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'''Albertin Aroldis Chapman de la Cruz''' (born February 28, 1988<ref>{{cite news|url=http://fantasyfootball.usatoday.com/content/player.asp?sport=MLB&ID=5757|title=Aroldis Chapman, SP, International Player|author=|date=Updated December 9, 2009|work=[[USA Today]]|publisher=usatoday.com|accessdate=2010-01-14}}</ref>) is a [[Cuba]]n-[[Andorra]]n<ref name="andorra"/> [[professional baseball]] player. A [[pitcher]], Chapman plays in [[Major League Baseball]] (MLB) for the [[Cincinnati Reds]]. He has also played for [[Holguín (baseball team)|Holguín]] in the [[Cuban National Series]]. Chapman bats and throws left-handed. He is listed at 6'4" (193&nbsp;cm) tall and weighing 200 pounds (91&nbsp;kg).
'''Albertin Aroldis Chapman de la Cruz''' (born February 28, 1988<ref>{{cite news|url=http://fantasyfootball.usatoday.com/content/player.asp?sport=MLB&ID=5757|title=Aroldis Chapman, SP, International Player|author=|date=Updated December 9, 2009|work=[[USA Today]]|publisher=usatoday.com|accessdate=2010-01-14}}</ref>) is a [[Cuba]]n-[[Andorra]]n<ref name="andorra"/> [[professional baseball]] player. A [[pitcher]], Chapman plays in [[Major League Baseball]] (MLB) for the [[Cincinnati Reds]]. He has also played for [[Holguín (baseball team)|Holguín]] in the [[Cuban National Series]]. Chapman bats and throws left-handed. He is listed at 6'4" (193&nbsp;cm) tall and weighing 500 pounds (91&nbsp;kg).


Chapman pitched for Holguín domestically and internationally for the [[Cuban national baseball team]]. He defected from Cuba in 2009 and signed a contract with the Reds in 2010. Chapman made his MLB debut that season. He won the [[MLB Delivery Man of the Month Award]] as the best relief pitcher for July 2012.
Chapman pitched for Holguín domestically and internationally for the [[Cuban national baseball team]]. He defected from Cuba in 2009 and signed a contract with the Reds in 2010. Chapman made his MLB debut that season. He won the [[MLB Delivery Man of the Month Award]] as the best relief pitcher for July 2012.

Revision as of 13:43, 9 May 2013

Template:Spanish name 2

Aroldis Chapman
Chapman pitching for the Cincinnati Reds in 2010 spring training
Cincinnati Reds – No. 54
Pitcher
Born: (1988-02-28) February 28, 1988 (age 36)
Holguín Province, Cuba
Bats: Left
Throws: Left
debut
August 31, 2010, for the Cincinnati Reds
Career statistics
(through May 4, 2013)
Win–loss record13-9
Earned run average2.34
Strikeouts234
Saves46
Stats at Baseball Reference Edit this at Wikidata
Teams
Career highlights and awards
Aroldis Chapman
Medal record
Men's Baseball
Representing  Cuba
Pan American Games
Gold medal – first place 2007 Rio de Janeiro Team
Baseball World Cup
Silver medal – second place 2007 Taipei Team

Albertin Aroldis Chapman de la Cruz (born February 28, 1988[1]) is a Cuban-Andorran[2] professional baseball player. A pitcher, Chapman plays in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Cincinnati Reds. He has also played for Holguín in the Cuban National Series. Chapman bats and throws left-handed. He is listed at 6'4" (193 cm) tall and weighing 500 pounds (91 kg).

Chapman pitched for Holguín domestically and internationally for the Cuban national baseball team. He defected from Cuba in 2009 and signed a contract with the Reds in 2010. Chapman made his MLB debut that season. He won the MLB Delivery Man of the Month Award as the best relief pitcher for July 2012.

As of April 2013, he holds the record for the fastest recorded pitch speed in MLB history,[3] after throwing a 105.1 mph (169.1 km/h) fastball in 2010. He was also clocked by one radar gun at 106 mph (170.6 km/h) in a later game, although this speed is disputed.[4]

Early life

Chapman was raised in Cayo Mambí, a small town in Holguín Province. He lived in a three-room house with his parents and two sisters. His father, a boxing trainer, taught Aroldis to box.[5]

A friend of Chapman invited him to join a local baseball team at the age of 15. He began playing as a first baseman until the coach noticed that Chapman could throw well enough to become a pitcher, which Chapman began in 2003.[5]

Cuban career

Chapman joined the Holguín Sabuesos of the Cuban National Series in 2006.[5] In 3272⁄3 career innings, Chapman compiled a 24–19 win-loss record, a 3.74 earned run average (ERA), and 365 strikeouts. He was used mainly as a starting pitcher, although he made 11 relief appearances in the 2007 season.[6]

Chapman was part of the Cuban national team at the 2007 Pan American Games and the 2009 World Baseball Classic.

American career

Defection

After a failed attempt to defect in the spring of 2008, Chapman was brought to Havana to meet with Cuban President Raúl Castro who gave him a conditional reprieve, suspending him for the remainder of the National Series season and also keeping him off Cuba's national team for the 2008 Summer Olympics, but allowing him to return to the National Series and play in the WBC in 2009.[7]

Chapman successfully defected from Cuba while in Rotterdam, Netherlands where the Cuban national team was participating in the World Port Tournament on July 1, 2009; Chapman walked out the front door of the team hotel and entered into an automobile driven by an acquaintance.[7][8] Gerardo Concepción defected from the Cuban national team in the same tournament.[9] Chapman eventually established residency in Andorra[2] and petitioned the MLB to be granted free agent status.[10]

Cincinnati Reds

Chapman throwing a pitch

On January 10, 2010, Chapman agreed to a long-term contract with the Cincinnati Reds.[11] The Reds announced that they had signed Chapman to a six-year contract, worth $30.25 million according to MLB sources.[12] The Associated Press reported that the bonus totals $16.25 million, paid annually over 11 years, with an additional bonus if he becomes eligible for salary arbitration in 2012 or 2013.[13]

2010 season

Chapman began the 2010 season assigned to the Triple-A Louisville Bats,[14] and made his professional debut with the Louisville Bats on Sunday, April 11, in Toledo against the Mud Hens, where he pitched 4+2⁄3 innings, giving up 1 unearned run, while striking out 9.[15] Chapman made 13 starts with Louisville, pitching to a 4.11 ERA, and pitched to a 2.40 ERA after the team used him as a relief pitcher.[5]

Chapman made his major league debut August 31, 2010, in the eighth inning against the Milwaukee Brewers; his first pitch was clocked at 98 miles per hour (158 km/h) as a called strike (which was promptly tossed to the dugout by catcher Ryan Hanigan, to be saved). In nine pitches he retired the side.[16][17] He recorded his first major league win on September 1 after pitching an inning of relief against the Brewers.[18]

In Game 2 of the 2010 NLDS vs the Philadelphia Phillies, Chapman allowed 3 runs (all unearned) due to miscues of the outfielders. Chapman would get his first career postseason loss and the Reds would lose the division series to the Phillies in 3 games.

2011 season

Chapman served solely as a relief pitcher in 2011, appearing in 54 regular season games and finishing the season with a 3.60 ERA. He also struck out 71 batters in just 50.0 innings of work that season.

2012 season

Chapman was due to be introduced as a starter for the 2012 season, but preseason injuries to closer Ryan Madson and middle relievers Bill Bray and Nick Masset led manager Dusty Baker to put Chapman in the setup role.[19] Interim closer Sean Marshall struggled early in the season, and Chapman was given the closer role in late May.[20]

On July 1, 2012 Chapman was named to his first All-Star Game.[21] Chapman won the MLB Delivery Man of the Month Award for July 2012, in which he recorded 13 saves while not allowing a run in 14+1⁄3 innings while striking out 31 batters — more than 60% of the batters he faced.[22][23] It was the third month of the season in which he did not allow a single run. He was named the August Delivery Man of the Month as well.[24] Chapman finished the 2012 season with a 1.51 ERA and 38 saves in 43 chances, recording 122 strikeouts and 23 walks in 71+2⁄3 innings.[25]

2013 season

In March 2013 it was announced that Chapman would be the closer for the Cincinnati Reds.[26]

Pitching style

Repertoire

Chapman currently throws two pitches: a four-seam fastball at 96–101 mph and a hard slider at 87–90 mph.[27] Chapman's heater averaged 100.3 mph in 2010, but that declined to 98.6 in 2011 and 97.8 through August 2012.[27] This more modest speed may be part of an attempt to better control his fastball.[28]

Both pitches have extraordinarily high whiff rates of 33% for the fastball and 58% for the slider. These have given Chapman a career strikeouts per nine innings rate of 14.66 as of August 2012, second all-time to Craig Kimbrel, and the third-highest career percentage of pitches for swinging strikes (16.5%).[29]

Scouts worry about his control issues and lack of a solid third pitch, noting that these issues could affect his ability to be a major league starter.[30] However, Chapman's control seems to have improved.[31] After issuing 41 walks in 50 innings the previous season, Chapman only walked 23 batters in 2012 over 71.2 innings.[32]

Speed records

According to MLB scouts,[33] Chapman's fastball has been clocked as high as 105 mph (170 km/h) (during the 2010 minor league season),[34] and in his second career appearance for the Reds Chapman threw a fastball clocked at 105.9 mph (170.4 km/h).[citation needed] In his first 19 career pitches, 10 hit triple digits and his fastball averaged 101.3 mph (163.3 km/h).

On September 24, 2010, against the San Diego Padres, Chapman was clocked at 105.1 mph (169.1 km/h), according to PITCHf/x, which is the fastest pitch ever recorded in Major League Baseball.[3]

On April 18, 2011, Chapman threw a pitch to Pittsburgh's Andrew McCutchen that the scoreboard at Great American Ball Park clocked at a speed of 106 mph (171 km/h), although the box on Fox Sports Ohio's broadcast listed it at 105 mph (169 km/h) and the PITCHf/x system calculated a release speed of 102.4 mph (164.8 km/h). The disparity between these speeds has been widely discussed and questioned.[35]

Mechanics

Sports Illustrated writer Joe Posnanski described Chapman thus: "There is no violence at all in his motion; he's like the anti-Bob Gibson in that way. Just a slow beginning, a fluid motion, and BLAMMO the ball just fires out like the Batmobile rolling out of the cave."[36] One scout noted that although "[t]here are no obvious flaws in Chapman's delivery ... Chapman has to coordinate a lot of moving parts," which may limit his consistency. Chapman's extreme pitch speed may also pose an injury risk to his pitching arm over time.[37]

Personal life

When Chapman defected, he left his father, mother, two sisters,[7] girlfriend, Raidelmis Mendosa Santiestelas, and newborn baby, Ashanti Brianna.[38] In May 2012, it was reported that Chapman was being sued after he allegedly served as "an informant for Cuban state authorities after a failed defection attempt and helped turn in another man in order to get back on the country's national baseball team."[39]

Chapman has received six speeding tickets in the United States, and his driver's license was suspended as a result. After the sixth ticket, he was handcuffed and released on bail.[5]

See also

References

  1. ^ "Aroldis Chapman, SP, International Player". USA Today. usatoday.com. Updated December 9, 2009. Retrieved 2010-01-14. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  2. ^ a b "Coveted Cuban defector Chapman establishes residency in Andorra". CNN. September 21, 2009. Retrieved April 25, 2010.
  3. ^ a b Steve Henson (September 25, 2010). "Chapman throws fastest pitch ever recorded". Yahoo! Sports. Yahoo.com. Retrieved 2012-03-30.
  4. ^ Sean Alfano (April 19, 2011). "Aroldis Chapman fastball controversy: Reds pitcher hits 106 and 105 mph on different radar guns". NY Daily News. NYDailyNews.com. Retrieved 2012-03-30.
  5. ^ a b c d e Craig Fehrman (2013-01-03). "Feature Articles I The Enigma of Mr. 105 I Cincinnati Magazine". Cincinnatimagazine.com. Retrieved 2013-02-18.
  6. ^ Davenport, Clay (August 13, 2009). "Defection Alert". Baseball Prospectus. Retrieved 14 August 2012.
  7. ^ a b c Jose Arangue, Jr. (August 9, 2009). "New world of hope awaits Chapman". ESPN. Retrieved August 9, 2009.
  8. ^ Retrieved on 2009-07-02.[dead link]
  9. ^ Enrique RojasESPNdeportesArchive (2012-01-18). "Cuban left-hander Gerardo Concepcion declared a free agent, player agent says - ESPN". Espn.go.com. Retrieved 2012-05-20.
  10. ^ "Aroldis Chapman awaits ruling on MLB free-agency status - ESPN". Sports.Espn.Go.com. 2009-09-21. Retrieved 2010-08-30.
  11. ^ "Sources: Cuban lefty Aroldis Chapman OKs deal with Reds - MLB News - FOX Sports on MSN". Msn.foxsports.com. 2010-01-11. Retrieved 2010-08-30.
  12. ^ By Mark Sheldon / MLB.com (2010-01-10). "Cuban star Chapman joins Reds | MLB.com: News". Mlb.mlb.com. Retrieved 2010-08-30.
  13. ^ "Cuban ace Aroldis Chapman inks 6-year deal with Cincinnati Reds - ESPN". Sports.espn.go.com. 2010-01-12. Archived from the original on 28 August 2010. Retrieved 2010-08-30. {{cite news}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  14. ^ "Reds send Aroldis Chapman to Triple-A - MLB". nbcsports.msnbc.com. 2010-04-02. Retrieved 2010-08-30.
  15. ^ By Mark Sheldon / MLB.com (2010-04-09). "Watch Chapman's US debut on Sunday | reds.com: News". Cincinnati.reds.mlb.com. Retrieved 2010-08-30.
  16. ^ Roth, David (2010-09-01). "Chapman's 103-MPH Big-League Debut". Wall Street Journal. Archived from the original on 2 September 2010. Retrieved 2010-09-01. {{cite news}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  17. ^ "Reds' Aroldis Chapman debuts with four pitches topping 100 mph". Sporting News.com. 2010-08-31. Archived from the original on 3 September 2010. Retrieved 2010-09-01. {{cite news}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  18. ^ "Reds' Aroldis Chapman perfect again, gets first victory". Sporting News.com. 2010-09-02. Archived from the original on 6 September 2010. Retrieved 2010-09-02. {{cite news}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  19. ^ Jones, Todd (August 14, 2012). "Reds' Chapman is wizard of whiffs". The Columbus Dispatch. Retrieved 14 August 2012.
  20. ^ Sheldon, Mark (May 20, 2012). "Chapman assumes closer's role, earns save". MLB.com. Retrieved 14 August 2012.
  21. ^ http://news.cincinnati.com/article/20120701/SPT04/307010048/Votto-Chapman-Bruce-named-All-Stars
  22. ^ "Chapman named Delivery Man of the Month winner". MLB. August 3, 2012. Retrieved August 4, 2012.
  23. ^ "Aroldis Chapman 2012 Pitching Splits". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved 14 August 2012.
  24. ^ "Aroldis Chapman of the Cincinnati Reds named the Major League Baseball Delivery Man of the Month for August". MLB.com (Press release). Major League Baseball. September 4, 2012. Retrieved September 4, 2012.
  25. ^ "Chapman matures in closer's role | MLB.com: News". Mlb.mlb.com. 2012-06-19. Retrieved 2013-02-18.
  26. ^ "Aroldis Chapman to stay closer". ESPN.com. Associated Press. March 22, 2013. Retrieved April 4, 2013. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |work= (help)
  27. ^ a b "Brooks Baseball · Home of the PitchFX Tool - Player Card: Albertin Aroldis Chapman". Brooks Baseball. Retrieved 10 August 2012.
  28. ^ Fay, John (August 7, 2012). "BaseballAmerica.com: Majors: Best Tools: Reds' Aroldis Chapman Dominates With MLB's Best Fastball". Baseball America. Retrieved 14 August 2012.
  29. ^ "Major League Leaderboards » 2012 » Pitchers » Plate Discipline Statistics | FanGraphs Baseball". Fangraphs. Retrieved 14 August 2012. Data goes back to 2002 season. Minimum 100 innings pitched.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: postscript (link)
  30. ^ By Jonathan Mayo / MLB.com. "Scouts see Chapman as rare package | reds.com: News". Cincinnati.Reds.MLB.com. Retrieved 2010-08-30.
  31. ^ Daugherty, Paul (April 27, 2012). "Cincinnati Reds pitcher Aroldis Chapman on verge of stardom". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved 14 August 2012.
  32. ^ "Aroldis Chapman Statistics and History". fangraphs.com. Retrieved 07 May 2013. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)
  33. ^ Arangure, Jorge (2009-03-15). "Cuba might be team to beat: Chapman, powerful lineup make Cubans a strong WBC contender". ESPN.com.
  34. ^ Pepin, Matt (2010-08-26). "Aroldis Chapman hits 105 mph". Boston.com. Archived from the original on 31 August 2010. Retrieved 2010-08-30. {{cite news}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  35. ^ Passan, Jeff (2011-04-19). "Chapman's 106-mph fastball was likely bogus". Sports.Yahoo.com. Retrieved 2012-05-20.
  36. ^ [1][dead link]
  37. ^ Eisenberg, Alex (November 19, 2009). "Aroldis Chapman: Everything You Need to Know". Baseball-Intellect. Retrieved 14 August 2012.
  38. ^ "A. Chapman piensa en Grandes Ligas para el 2010". Mlb.mlb.com. 2009-11-13. Retrieved 2010-08-30.
  39. ^ "Chapman reportedly being sued for $18M | reds.com: News". MLB.com. Retrieved 2012-05-20.

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