There's no denying how good Aroldis Chapman has been this season. He earned his eighth All-Star appearance in the first half, and he's been the best member of a bullpen that ranks third in ERA (3.37) this season.
It really is a testament to his dominance and longevity that, despite being known as a flamethrower, he's authoring arguably the best season of his career at the ripe age of 37. His 1.04 ERA is a career-best, and his 1.83 FIP is the best mark he's posted since he won the 2016 World Series with the Chicago Cubs nearly a decade ago.
If you, like most baseball fans, are looking for explanations as to how Chapman is doing this just a few years away from turning 40, then Buster Olney has an answer for you. But, spoiler alert, it might be the dumbest thing you hear all day.
Aroldis Chapman is thriving because of actual changes, not basic fundamentals
If you can't bear to listen to that full clip, I'll give you the TLDR: apparently, Chapman, a Hall of Fame closer, has never thought to try and locate his fastball before. Throughout his whole career, including time spent with the Reds, Yankees, Cubs, Royals, Rangers, and Rangers, no one has ever considered telling Chapman that he's allowed to try and throw his fastball somewhere other than the middle of the plate.
Now, in fairness to Olney, there's likely some truth in that story, and it's certainly possible that Connor Wong was able to get Chapman to buy into the Red Sox's PitchCom system. There's no denying that the southpaw's walk rate has finally stabilized (career-low 7.3% this year), and Boston's pitching infrastructure absolutely has had something to do with it.
But to claim that the fix was as simple as telling one of the best pitchers of this generation that he can try to locate his best pitch is utter insanity. It's an insult to the intelligence of baseball fans.
How about we try and actually decipher what's going on here?
Well, for one thing, he's finally committed to his sinker, as he's throwing it 34% of the time this year, compared to just 5% three years ago.
Or, how about the fact that Chapman's arm angle has increased by nearly seven degress from just five years ago? This a change he's gradually been making to fend off his dip in velocity, but throwing more overhand has allowed him to pitch inside far more efficiently this year.
Plus, for what it's worth, that dip in velocity makes his pitches easier to command! More velocity means less control is an adage as old as radar guns, and yet that doesn't seem to suffice as a passable explanation to Olney.
Based purely on his on-field production, Chapman is one of the greatest relief pitchers ever. He has a career 2.53 ERA and 361 saves. By all accounts, he's going to waltz into the Hall of Fame when it's time for him to appear on the ballot (barring some hesitancy stemming from his past off-the-field troubles).
His production this year isn't a case of an all-time great learning the fundamentals of the sport; it's another example that the best players in the world are willing to make changes to stay on top of the curve.
It's that attention to detail that's giving Chapman such impressive longevity, and is surely the reason why the Sox signed him to a contract extension last month.