The Cuban defector made his major league debut in middle relief. He only threw eight pitches in one inning, but he retired everybody, and his pitches really smoked.
The Associated Press says two of them clocked at 102 MPH. They say he was clocked as fast as 105 in AAA.
The New York Times sports blogger reported on his second outing, where Chapman again flawlessly retired all he faced:
Chapman has now thrown 19 pitches in the major leagues, 16 for strikes. Ten of his pitches have been 100 miles an hour or faster, including a 103.9-m.p.h. heater Wednesday (for a ball, alas) that was the hardest in the majors over the last three seasons, according to pitch f/x.
Sounds like the Mariano Rivera-level of relief pitching won't be a once-in-a-generation phenomenon. In fact, if Strasburg comes back via the bullpen, it will be like seeing a clone army of Riveras. I've got to wonder if we're heading into a new epoch of baseball, where all the stars are flaming-yet-tender arms that only come out from the pen. There's some logic to it. Rivera has gotten to have an impact on far more games than a starter, and has been a consistent lights-out pitcher since 1996, one reason I think he deserves in that conversation for best ever, at any position.
