The Braves got a front-row seat to a little bit of baseball history on June 29, 2024, even if it wasn’t the kind of moment their fans were hoping to see.
Atlanta was locked in a tight game with Pittsburgh at Truist Park, with Max Fried and Paul Skenes dueling through most of the night. The Braves were hoping for a ninth-inning walk-off against the Pirates, but instead the game turned into the stage for Aroldis Chapman’s latest milestone.
Brought out of the Pittsburgh bullpen to keep the game tied, Chapman worked one inning against Atlanta and struck out two batters. Those two punchouts pushed him to 1,197 career strikeouts and moved him past former Braves closer Billy Wagner for the most career strikeouts by a left-handed reliever in MLB history.
At the time, Chapman also sat fifth all-time in strikeouts among relievers. Since then, he has climbed even higher and is now tied with Hoyt Wilhelm for the top spot at 1,363 strikeouts. It doesn’t feel like he’ll be stuck there for long.
Chapman’s inning helped keep the game level, but Atlanta still finished with the win when Adam Duvall delivered a walk-off single in extras against the Pirates. That at least softened the blow of watching a milestone unfold against them.
What makes Chapman’s run stand out is how long he’s kept doing this at such a high level. He’s still throwing with the same kind of velocity that made him famous when he first reached the majors, and that kind of durability is unusual for a pitcher who brings that much heat.
There was also a time with the Red Sox when Chapman’s control wasn’t where it needed to be. The introduction of Pitchcom changed that, and Buster Olney reported that Chapman had never really thought about locating his pitch.
"That's when the lightbulb went off over Chapman's head. He told Wong and Jason Varitek that he never thought about spotting his fastball; he would just throw it to home plate. All of a sudden, his entire perspective has changed."
For a pitcher to simply air out a fastball without much thought for where it lands is a risky way to live. It’s a nightmare for hitters, sure, but not exactly a stable blueprint for closing games. Chapman figured it out, and now he’s tracking toward the standard for strikeouts by a reliever.
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