• Submitted by: manso
• Sports
• 03 / 02 / 2011

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By Jorge L. Ortiz, USA TODAY. GOODYEAR, Ariz. — Aroldis Chapman's 105-mph fastball — the fastest pitch ever recorded in the major leagues — has prompted mass migrations among fans, caused peers to double- and triple-check the scoreboard and blown away some of the game's best hitters.

The figure doesn't seem to make much of an impression on the Cincinnati Reds left-hander, though. After all, he owns something else that can go nearly twice as fast — his 2009 Lamborghini Murcielago.

The two-seat sports car, which costs close to $300,000 and tops out at 205 mph, is Chapman's most gaudy indulgence, as well as a sign that the Cuban exile has embraced the capitalistic culture he now lives in.

And it's not just luxury items he has come to enjoy in America. Chapman yearned for Cuban food in the first several weeks after he signed a six-year, $30.25 million contract to join the Reds in January 2010, six months after defecting at an amateur tournament in The Netherlands, but now has discovered the pleasures of fast food.

Fast car, fast food and fastball — the assimilation to life in the USA is taking place quickly for Chapman, who will pitch out of the bullpen as a rookie this season. The part that still lags is his command of the English language, which remains spotty, just good enough to exchange greetings and some light banter with American teammates.

"Last year he was very apprehensive about everything, including the people," says Reds general manager Walt Jocketty, who got a hug from Chapman when they first saw each other before spring training. "I think now he understands he's got people he can trust and who'll support him."

Those people — including fellow Spanish-speaking players, Class AAA Louisville trainer Tomas Vera and the Latino community in his adopted hometown of Miami — will have to suffice in the absence of his family, which remains in Cuba.

Chapman, who turned 23 Monday, has explored bringing his relatives to the USA but says he has been told it will take quite a while. He has yet to meet his daughter, Ashanti, who was born three days before he defected and is now 20 months. She lives in Cuba with her mother, Raidelmis Mendosa, who is Chapman's girlfriend.

Father and daughter have spoken on the phone.

"She's grown up a lot. I feel bad about her growing up so much and me not having the opportunity to meet her," Chapman says. "She tells me, 'Dad, come.' "

For now, relief role fits best

Much like his adjustment off the field, Chapman's development as a pitcher continues apace, with some stumbles.

He endured several ups and downs in his first pro season as a starter for the Louisville Bats— going 5-5 with a 4.11 ERA — until the Reds moved him to the bullpen, figuring he could help them in short stints during the playoff race.

Not only did Chapman respond with a 2.40 ERA in 26 minor league outings as a reliever, but he registered a 2.03 ERA and struck out 19 in 13? innings with the Reds, earning a spot on the postseason roster.

The defending National League Central champs have a deep rotation, so Jocketty says they will keep Chapman in the bullpen this season but remain open to him starting in the future. With his arsenal, he might eventually be best suited to be a closer.

As a reliever, Chapman doesn't have to pace himself, which makes him more likely to unfurl the 100-mph-plus heaters that stunned observers as they watched him light up the scoreboard last season.

"It was supernatural," says Reds reliever Jose Arredondo, whose fastball has hit 96-97 mph on the radar gun. "Until I saw him, I didn't know anybody could throw that hard."

In a Sept. 24 outing at the San Diego Padres' Petco Park, every one of Chapman's 25 pitches was clocked at 100 mph or higher. According to Pitch-f/x, which tracks pitches for MLB, he hit 104 mph three times and 105 mph — the fastest reliably recorded pitch ever in the majors — once against Tony Gwynn Jr.

The first batter he faced, three-time All-Star Adrian Gonzalez, struck out swinging at three fastballs that traveled at 102, 102 and 103 mph, respectively.

"He throws the ball well, and he's going to be good in the future when he commands better," says Gonzalez, now with the Boston Red Sox. "He just has to develop a little more."

Chapman's raw power and the intrigue surrounding a player who appeared on most fans' radar only about a year and a half ago have made him a sensation.

Pitching coach Bryan Price recalls a large contingent of fans crowding behind the center-field fence to watch Chapman warm up in the bullpen Aug. 31, the first time he pitched at Cincinnati's Great American Ball Park.

When he entered the game, the fans rushed for a better vantage point.

"Everybody in the ballpark worked their way behind home plate," Price says. "As much as you could condense (them) behind the plate, they were right on top of the action. Just a spectacle.

"The jaw still drops when you see someone hit 100 mph on the gun, but to see 102, 104, 105, you realize you're witnessing something that probably has never been seen before. My first reaction was, 'Can that be right?' "

Catcher Ramon Hernandez points out that locating pitches — which was a problem for Chapman at Louisville until his move to the bullpen — is just as important as how hard they're thrown.

Chapman also throws an effective slider, plus a changeup and splitter he unveils mostly when starting.

"I don't get caught up in it (the radar gun readings) because I had friends in Cuba who could throw hard," Chapman says. "And by trying to throw even harder, several got hurt. That kept me from trying to overthrow."

The Reds sped up Chapman's tempo on the mound and compacted his windup, but otherwise they have not tinkered with his mechanics.

Assimilation takes time

Part of the reason the Reds are keeping Chapman in the bullpen this year is to limit his innings. They also like his potential as a shutdown reliever in the late innings ahead of closer Francisco Cordero.

And if Chapman is to return to a starting role eventually, which he prefers, he'll have to prove he can maintain his mechanics and command for extended stretches. That was an issue when he started in the minors.

"If my future is in the bullpen, then I'll do my job," Chapman says. "And the same thing as a starter."

At Louisville, the Reds also had trouble getting Chapman to follow instructions precisely. He would perform their strength and conditioning program, but not always at the right place and time or with the group he was told to join.

Vera, who has become a friend and confidant as well as interpreter, says the culture shock went both ways.

"It wasn't so much him assimilating as the organization needing to have patience and learning to differentiate him — a Cuban who's the product of a revolution — from a 22-year-old from a free Latin American country," Venezuelan-born Vera says.

They practiced driving for weeks until Chapman, who did not have a car in Cuba, got his license.

"For him, it was harder to pass the driver's license test than to pitch to (Albert) Pujols or Gonzalez," Vera says. Such challenges from seemingly mundane tasks are familiar to a fellow Cuban defector, Oakland Athletics hopeful Yadel Marti, a pitcher who spent two years with Chapman on the Cuban national team and considers him a friend.

Marti predicts greatness for Chapman but also cautions that it will take at least two or three years until he comes into his own. The level of baseball in Cuba is quite high, Marti points out, but the sport lacks the structure and professionalism that are staples in the USA.

"He got a very good contract, so he has to perform," Marti says. "And to perform here, you have to prepare yourself, because at this level, velocity is not everything. He still has a ways to go. He's a diamond in the rough."

Source: www.usatoday.com/sports/baseball/nl/reds/2011-02-28-aroldis-chapman-pitc...