The last time Aroldis Chapman stood on a postseason mound, he had a grin on his face after Houston’s Jose Altuve took him deep to end the ALCS and send the Yankees home.
In the months that followed, the Astros had their 2017 World Series title forever tainted due to a sign-stealing scheme that some believed was still being used in some form last year.
In February, Chapman called Altuve’s refusal to let his teammates rip off his shirt in celebration “suspicious,” but refused to say he believed the second baseman and the rest of the Astros were still cheating.
On Tuesday, Chapman gets his first chance at playoff redemption, with the Yankees facing the Indians in Game 1 of the wild-card series at Progressive Field in Cleveland.
And he insisted the disappointing ending to 2019 won’t be on his mind.
“There’s always a lot of motivation to do my job,’’ Chapman said through an interpreter. “Whatever happened in the past, keep it there. We have to focus on what we have in front of us, That has to be the major focus for us.”
Chapman seems in prime position to have a better playoffs this year. After recovering from COVID-19, the left-handed closer was excellent for much of the abbreviated regular season.
After allowing runs in three of his first four appearances, Chapman was dominant. In his final eight outings, Chapman gave up just one hit, two walks and struck out 17 over 7 ²/₃ innings.
And he pitched well in last year’s playoffs before he hung the fateful slider to Altuve.
Recently, Chapman also appeared to add a split-finger fastball to his repertoire. He declined to say whether he’d use it in the playoffs.
“The pitch was there for a long time,’’ Chapman said. “It’s just that I never used it in a game. The last couple of games, I had a good opportunity to use it and I did.”
Against a Cleveland team the Yankees haven’t faced this season, it will be another pitch Chapman can go to.
“I’m very happy with how I feel right now,’’ Chapman said. “I’m healthy and overall … my command has been there the last couple outings. In general, I feel I’m where I want to be.”
