The acquisition of Aroldis Chapman has been something of a mixed bag for the Pittsburgh Pirates this season.
The hard-throwing 36-year-old has shown zero dropoff when it comes to velocity (with Chapman owning MLB’s fastest pitches thrown this year, both at 104 mph).
Control has been another story, as his 8.7 walks per nine innings marks a career-worst over 15 big-league campaigns.
But Chapman still is striking out batters at an elite rate (15.1 per nine innings).
Saturday evening in Atlanta, with two ninth-inning strikeouts, Chapman took sole possession of first place in MLB history for most punchouts by a left-handed reliever.
Chapman’s 1,196th strikeout, of Travis d’Arnaud, tied him with Billy Wagner for the all-time lead.
The next batter Chapman faced, Sean Murphy, went down swinging to end the bottom of the ninth, handing Chapman the record at 1,197.
Aroldis Chapman moved into 5th place all-time among relievers with the most strikeouts in MLB:
— Francys Romero (@francysromeroFR) June 29, 2024
1,197 SO Chapman
1,196 SO Wagner
He is the left-handed reliever with the most SO in the history of the game. pic.twitter.com/zz9xw7L91U
“It feels good,” Chapman said on the SportsNet Pittsburgh postgame show through Pirates assistant coach and translator Stephen Morales. “It’s just the result of hard work through the years and putting in the work every day. I thank God I can receive a milestone like this.”
Wagner played from 1995-2010, notably with the Houston Astros (1995-2003), and was a seven-time All-Star.
Chapman, also a seven-time All-Star, was a major adversary of the Pirates from 2010-15, when he began his MLB career with the Cincinnati Reds.
This season, his first with the Pirates after signing a one-year, $10.5-million contract, Chapman is 0-3 with a 3.72 ERA.
He’s struck out 49 and walked 28 in 29 innings.
Hoyt Wilhelm, who played from 1952-1972, is baseball’s all-time leader in strikeouts by a reliever with 1,363.
Chapman currently ranks fifth on the list.
With 29 more strikeouts, he’ll pass Lee Smith for fourth place, with Craig Kimbrel (1,236) and Goose Gossage (1,340) ranking third and second, respectively.
