CLEVELAND — Aroldis Chapman grabbed a towel, swiped it across his face, then threw it down on the ground. Slowly, he walked down the 40 steps or so from the upper bullpen at Progressive Field to the playing field. Once at the warning track, he jogged slowly until reaching the infield dirt, where he slowed to a stroll.
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Chapman had been spotted in the clubhouse with a brace on his left knee, the one afflicted by tendinitis. And following a bizarre 5-4 victory over the Indians on Saturday night, when he recorded his 26th save in 27 chances, he wore matching ice packs on his left shoulder, left elbow and left knee. But whatever pain he’s experienced has done nothing to take the edge off his dominance.
Within the Yankees clubhouse, Chapman might be the flashiest dresser, and his Instagram account is just a Robin Leach cameo away from doubling as a reboot of “Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous.” Yet on the field, his performance has been understated, a function of his reliability.
On Saturday, the Yankees survived a tough defensive night for third baseman Miguel Andújar, whose misplay of a tough hop led to the tying runs in the sixth. But the Yankees pushed ahead for good in the seventh. Officially, Austin Romine won it with a double. Unofficially, he slugged a Little League home run.
“It wasn’t always perfect or pretty,” said Yankees manager Aaron Boone, who was ejected earlier in the game for arguing a strikeout of Giancarlo Stanton. “But a really good win for us tonight.”
After Romine laced a shot to right, Brandon Guyer had trouble retrieving it with his glove, allowing Romine to take third. But the relay throw by second baseman Erik González wound up banging off the photo well. Umpires signaled for Romine to jog home — a respite after sprinting for 270 feet. The slow-footed catcher completed his arduous trip around the bases, then took a seat in the dugout, where teammates fanned him with a towel.
One of Romine’s first thoughts drifted to the larger consequence of his actions. He’d just given the Yankees a slim lead, which would be entrusted to the game’s most intimidating bullpens.
“They’ve been great,” Boone said. “And more guys have stepped up in different roles.”
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Of course, Saturday night belonged to the standbys. David Robertson, who had taken over for CC Sabathia in the sixth, recorded a perfect seventh. Dellin Betances followed with an easy eighth. Then came Chapman, whose knee has been troublesome enough to keep him from pitching in the All-Star Game, though he insisted that his availability in these games was never in doubt.
The knee issue has forced Chapman from a game this season. And Boone, who endured a similar malady as a player, speculated that the closer might have to address the problem in the offseason. Certain movements bring pain. Even a long stretch of rest might not be enough. So, the Yankees have trusted Chapman to work around it. Thus far, he hasn’t missed a beat.
“The thing with Chappy is that he takes such good care of his body and he prepares so well so he just puts himself in a really good position,” Boone said recently. “Now I just think as he’s gained more and more experience throughout his career, I think he understands himself and his body really well.”
A season ago, in his return to the Yankees, Chapman posted a 3.22 ERA. It was his highest since 2011. For three weeks he was bumped from the closer’s role. But this year, he’s responded by evolving. In the spring, he devoted himself to refining his slider, a devastating weapon when paired with a fastball that averages 99.2 mph. In 41 appearances, he has a 1.35 ERA.
Against the Indians on Saturday, Chapman recorded two of his three outs with his slider, which he has commanded despite its movement.
“It’s a pitch that I worked really hard in spring training with,” Chapman said through a translator. “I’m trying to get it to be more consistent and have better results. I’ve been using it quite a bit, controlling it well for strikes to put away hitters. Getting really good results with it. That’s the right reason to use it, right?”
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It’s tough to argue. According to Statcast, Chapman has upped his slider usage from 19.7 percent in 2017 to 23.7 percent this year. Hitters are batting .158 against him. And it appears they’ve been lucky even to do that. Based on exit velocity and launch angle, Statcast has opponents’ expected average at a paltry .081.
“Just the experience of pitching, he’s gotten really good at the craft and not overwhelming people all the time with his stuff,” Boone said. “We’ve seen that throughout the year. We’ve seen the slider become more of a factor. We’ve seen him be incredibly successful pitching in the high 90s. We’ve seen the extreme velocity that we’ve seen from him in the past as well.”
(Top photo by David Maxwell/Getty Images)
