Cincinnati Reds pitcher Aroldis Chapman throws to a Kansas City Royals batter in a spring training game Monday in Goodyear, Ariz.
Goodyear, Ariz. — Scouts behind home plate trained their radar guns on Cuban defector Aroldis Chapman as the left-hander prepared to throw. When the ball smacked the catcher’s mitt, they’d glance back at the gun and find an eye-popping number.
The left-hander hit 100 mph at least three times during his spring training debut Monday, throwing two scoreless innings during the Cincinnati Reds’ 14-5 victory over the Kansas City Royals.
The most impressive thing was that he did it without even trying.
“I wasn’t trying to throw that hard,” Chapman said through an interpreter, coach Tony Fossas. “It was good to face someone other than my own teammates. I felt better than I did in the last game. I start slow, and as the game goes on, I throw harder.”
Chapman was clocked at 100 mph while pitching for Cuba during the World Baseball Classic last spring.
Players from both teams stopped what they were doing to watch when he got ready to throw. He gave up a single by Brayan Pena and walked Brian Anderson before settling down and dominating.
“It sounded like he was throwing real hard. I couldn’t see it,” Royals manager Trey Hillman said, laughing. “He gets it up there. I’m not sure I’ve ever seen a longer stride. It looked like he was going to run out of mound.”
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