New York press put Chapman, the best Yankee closer of the five years, IN DOUBT – SwingCompleto

By Juan Páez

Aroldis Chapman he’s one of the best closers in baseball. In an illustrious 12-season career, the Cuban southpaw has 306 saves and a 2.36 lifetime ERA. After several workarounds by the New York Yankees for the ninth episode, he became the real successor to the immortal Mariano Rivera in the role of fire extinguisher for New Yorkers.

Even so, when Chapman’s position should be irrefutable in the last inning of the Aaron Boone-led club, the New York press questioned the man who has the third-most saves since 2012 in all of baseball (305).

The web portal Yanks Go Yard, from Fansided, brought up several of the problems that Chapman had on the hill in 2021 to strengthen the argument or the possibility that the Nicaraguan Jonathan Loáisiga will be the one who takes the role of closer for the Yankees in 2022, at least once from time to time. This is because the Yankees, according to the aforementioned website, should be preparing their best internal option to release Aroldis to free agency at the end of the season.

In the text, written in English, it is argued that Chapman could be relegated to being the Yankees coach (setup) and even be traded in the middle of the season by some prospects. Even the author wonders if Chapman could be a consistent and effective closer in 2022, as “his decline is likely to continue in the next few years.”

One of the reasons for the Yanks Go Yard to argue his words is that Chapman slowed down and finished averaging his fast pitch of 98.3 miles per hour, according to Baseball Savant.

And you have to understand something very important: you don’t need a 103 mph fastball to dominate in the majors. Joel Zumaya, a reliever for the Detroit Tigers between 2006 and 2010, pitched a 103 MPH fastball without breaking a sweat. But what could be a brilliant career ended in an impressive lack of control. Only five years lasted. Greg Maddux, the contemporary control master who now sports his bust in Cooperstown, threw his fast pitch at 93 mph in his prime. In his last tournaments, those miles dropped and hopefully he played 86 miles.

This was understood by Chapman. For that reason, he developed a scare slider that forced opponents to hit .173 in 2021 and a spread-fingered fastball that struck out 28 in 33 plate appearances last year. Simply awesome.

Yes, Chapman had some problems in the most recent season. His lack of control surfaced (6.1 BB / 9) and he was beaten in a span of nine presentations between June 10 and July 4. But notice this:

· Between April 5 and June 6: 23.0 EL, 1 CL, 0.39 PCL, .097 AVG, 43 K

· Between June 10 and July 4: 5.2 EL, 14 CL, 22.24 PCL, .483 AVG, 6 K

· Between July 6 and October 3: 27.2 EL, 6 CL, 1.95 PCL, .155 AVG, 48 K

Chapman is Chapman. You can not doubt his quality, nor fall into disrespect with a player who has been the best in his duties. The only thing this author could agree with Yanks Go Yard’s argument is that the Yankees could let Aroldis go in free agency and rely on what the talented Loáisiga (27-year-old) can then deliver as New’s new closer. York. But in the meantime, there is a whole season ahead. We will see how the Cuban Missile fares.