In the eighth inning of an 8-3 game against the Brewers, Dusty Baker called on Aroldis Chapman to makes his big league debut for the Reds. He entered to a standing ovation, made his warm-up pitches, and immediately threw this:
VIDEO: Aroldis Chapman Shines In Perfect Debut
The fastball was clocked at 98.4 miles per hour. Said the announcer: “Just getting loose.”
A little later on, Chapman’s first Major League at bat finished like this:
That’s an 87mph slider in on the ankles from a guy who throws triple digits.
And finally, here’s a fastball that Chapman threw at 101.4mph:
The fastest pitch Chapman threw was a 102.7mph heater to Craig Counsell that Counsell put on the ground. All in all, Chapman needed just eight pitches to retire the side in order, generating a strikeout and a pair of weak grounders. Of his six fastballs, four reached triple digits.
Aroldis Chapman may not be anything more than a late-inning reliever right now, but he clearly didn’t have any trouble overcoming nerves in his debut, and from this point forward, he could be a game-changer.
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