Aroldis Chapman revealed his new splitter sparingly during the 2020 season, but after a full offseason of working on the new pitch, the lefty flamethrower looks ready to unleash it in 2021.
Chapman broke it out on Saturday against the Pirates, striking out Troy Stokes with a filthy splitter on an 0-2 count, leaving manager Aaron Boone amazed.
“Wow,” Boone said from the dugout while joining the broadcast team on the YES Network. “That’s gross.”
Chapman set up the splitter with two straight fastballs, and now adds it to his arsenal that also includes a sweeping slider. As Chapman’s prolific fastball velocity declines with age, a third pitch could become valuable, especially if it generates swings and misses like it did on Saturday.
“That’s gross right there,” Boone said. “That thing, wow. Stokes is telling the other team ‘What was that?’ A 90 mph knuckleball.”
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