100mph and a Complicated Legacy

 

I think about how people are going to talk about Aroldis Chapman someday. One of the hardest throwing pitchers in history, with enough 100 mph fastballs to stifle years of lineups, two World Series rings with two different teams that had been waiting years for a ring, 7 time All-Star with two different teams that made playoff runs, and 1232 strikeouts and counting. No one can deny the ability and the ferocity that Chapman came to play with for years. But there are just too many character flaws that prevent Chapman from being a truly great player.

I'll never completely get over the fact that he was supposed to sign with the Dodgers, had all of that ready, and then an assault allegation emerges, at which point LA rescinds the deal, and the Yankees saw the opportunity when nobody else was buying and jumped on it. It was a poor taste move then, and it's a poor taste move now, and even as he had a great year between New York and Chicago it was hard for me to enjoy it knowing what he was doing in his spare time. And even as he became a Yankee hero and an everyday closer, there was still this tinge of uncertainty. It culminated in Chapman taking a down year in 2022 and using it as an excuse to lay back in Miami and not report. Everything Chapman has done since has been in spite of his volatility and his unsuitability. 

And the thing is, at least with someone like Wander Franco, Julio Urias or Domingo German, something can be proven and it can directly lead to a suspension or a leave of absence. With Chapman, there never really was something like that, and so he kept skirting on by. Which makes it even wilder that both Chapman and German are both employed by the Pittsburgh Pirates at the moment. Along with Jalen Beeks, they make up the current 'We Don't Care if Our Bullpen Pisses People off' initiative the Bucs seem to be going for.

Chapman, to his credit, isn't doing too badly this year. He's been one of the most reliable bullpen pieces for the Pirates, and has 84 Ks and a 3.48 ERA this year. It's not quite 2012 levels of dominance, but he's still capable of hitting 100 miles an hour and making someone regret going for it. He's very much treating this current era of play as the 'comeback arc', as he can prove his worth as a pitcher by providing steady work wherever he ends up. I don't know how long this is gonna go before he does something untoward again, but I sincerely hope he makes an effort not to mess up again.

Speaking of messing up, the Pirates have taken a team that could have snuck into the playoff picture and completely diluted any chance of competition. They're now last in the division, 10 games below .500 and have lost some really easy matches recently. They will get out of this year having Paul Skenes and Jared Jones and their great rookie campaigns, but you can't deny that even in the 5 months he's been around, Skenes has already gone through a full arc of falling out of love with this team. That is not an attitude you want to foster. Eventually there needs to be some sort of release, or else it's just gonna be upsetting the whole time. And so hopefully the Pirates can make something work for 2025, with Endy Rodriguez back and less of a garbled quality to the offense. 

But again, like Chapman, you can never tell how long it'll be before they ruin the goodwill.

Coming Tomorrow- Ironically a former Pirates pitcher who's finding more success on arguably a much worse team.