The Behind The Catcher View Of Aroldis Chapman's Fastball Is Flat Out Terrifying
That’s a fucking joke, dude. Back when I was in Little League, there was this kid named Chico, and he threw absolute fucking gas. The whole team did — I swear to God, they were all on steroids. They were like the goddamn 1980 Soviet Olympic hockey team, and a bunch of them ended up on that Saugus Little League team that finished second in the country and fourth in the world in the Little League World Series back in 2003.
Anyway, not the point. Point is, back when we used to play that team (lost to them in the league championship, still not over it), I used to swing at the first three pitches wherever they were, just to get out of the batter’s box as quickly as I could against Chico. Three pitches, and get me the fuck out of there. I’d imagine that’s what I would do if I had to face Aroldis Chapman, too.
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That fastball is flat out stupid to see up close like that. Absolutely no time to react. Every swing is a guess, and every at-bat is essentially putting your life on the line, because that fastball is coming in there at an ungodly speed. Since making his major league debut in 2010, Chapman has thrown 6,488 pitches, and 5,176 of them have been fastballs (80%). Of those 5,176 fastballs, 2,659 of them have been 99 MPH or faster (51%), and 1,752 of them have been 100 MPH or faster (34%). Since his major league debut in 2010, 68 major league pitchers have combined to throw 3,741 pitches that were 100 MPH or faster, and Chapman accounts for 47% of them. That’s just absurd.