TheCultofAbeLincoln
12th March 2010, 04:07
And then: Aroldis Chapman steps on the mound. You have probably heard Chapman's story. He is a 22-year-old left-handed pitcher from Cuba. He tried to defect from Cuba in 2008, was arrested, was given a reprieve and then successfully defected in Amsterdam. He eventually signed with the Reds for more than $30 million, which seems like a startling amount of money for someone who has never pitched in the big leagues.
And then: You watch Chapman pitch.
"I mean, holy cow," says longtime Kansas City scout Art Stewart.
Holy cow. There was a time in baseball when baseball phenoms would just show up, when blazing fast and switch-hitting sluggers would wander out of the Oklahoma mines and 17-year-old pitchers throwing 100 mph would walk off of farms in Iowa. But now -- you can follow baseball prospects through high school, through college, through the minor leagues, you can see film on them on the Internet, you can hear scouts talk about them, you can find prospect lists that go all the way to No. 2,000.
And then here comes Chapman. He's tall and lean -- he looks taller than the 6-foot-4 that is listed in the media guide. He picks up the baseball to warm up, and he throws so easy, like he's skipping a rock on a lake. The ball popped hard into the glove. The next one popped harder. Kansas City manager Trey Hillman was only half joking when he used that old line about how Chapman's pitches "sounded good." They really did sound good.
But the amazing part was the ease ... there was no grunting, no straining, no laboring. You hear that line all the time about athletes who look as if they were born to do something. Chapman struck out David DeJesus on a hard-sweeping slider that seemed to break two feet. He struck out Chris Getz on a 100-mph fastball that sliced the outside corner -- anyway Stewart clocked the pitch at 100 mph. Another scout clocked it at 102. Another got it at 98. Getz's speed approximation: "It was moving."
http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2010/writers/joe_posnanski/03/08/chapman.debut/index.html
Hope he doesn't get hurt, especially before I get to see him pitch.
With the 100 mph+ velocity, I'm tempted to say he probably looks a lot like Roy Oswalt. It takes more than speed at the Major League level, however, and I think we'll be able to see how far he may go when he needs his breaking ball. A couple 98 mph fastballs, maybe a slider to see if they're chasing out of the zone...and then a changeup that's got them swinging an hour early --- and heading to the dugout with nothing but frustration.
It's a beautiful thing.
edit: damn can't believe I misspelled his name.
And then: You watch Chapman pitch.
"I mean, holy cow," says longtime Kansas City scout Art Stewart.
Holy cow. There was a time in baseball when baseball phenoms would just show up, when blazing fast and switch-hitting sluggers would wander out of the Oklahoma mines and 17-year-old pitchers throwing 100 mph would walk off of farms in Iowa. But now -- you can follow baseball prospects through high school, through college, through the minor leagues, you can see film on them on the Internet, you can hear scouts talk about them, you can find prospect lists that go all the way to No. 2,000.
And then here comes Chapman. He's tall and lean -- he looks taller than the 6-foot-4 that is listed in the media guide. He picks up the baseball to warm up, and he throws so easy, like he's skipping a rock on a lake. The ball popped hard into the glove. The next one popped harder. Kansas City manager Trey Hillman was only half joking when he used that old line about how Chapman's pitches "sounded good." They really did sound good.
But the amazing part was the ease ... there was no grunting, no straining, no laboring. You hear that line all the time about athletes who look as if they were born to do something. Chapman struck out David DeJesus on a hard-sweeping slider that seemed to break two feet. He struck out Chris Getz on a 100-mph fastball that sliced the outside corner -- anyway Stewart clocked the pitch at 100 mph. Another scout clocked it at 102. Another got it at 98. Getz's speed approximation: "It was moving."
http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2010/writers/joe_posnanski/03/08/chapman.debut/index.html
Hope he doesn't get hurt, especially before I get to see him pitch.
With the 100 mph+ velocity, I'm tempted to say he probably looks a lot like Roy Oswalt. It takes more than speed at the Major League level, however, and I think we'll be able to see how far he may go when he needs his breaking ball. A couple 98 mph fastballs, maybe a slider to see if they're chasing out of the zone...and then a changeup that's got them swinging an hour early --- and heading to the dugout with nothing but frustration.
It's a beautiful thing.
edit: damn can't believe I misspelled his name.