Aroldis Chapman

Albertín Aroldis Chapman de la Cruz (aˈɾoldis ˈtʃapman; born February 28, 1988) is a Cuban-born American professional baseball pitcher for the New York Yankees of Major League Baseball (MLB). He previously played in MLB for the Cincinnati Reds and Chicago Cubs and in the Cuban National Series for Holguín. Chapman bats and throws left-handed, and is nicknamed the Cuban Missile or the Cuban Flame Thrower. Chapman pitched for Holguín domestically and internationally for the Cuban national baseball team. He defected from Cuba in 2009 and signed a contract with the Reds in 2010. Chapman made his MLB debut that season. He won the MLB Delivery Man of the Month Award as the best relief pitcher for July 2012, and has been named to four straight National League All-Star teams from 2012 to 2015. The Reds traded Chapman to the Yankees after the 2015 season, and the Yankees traded Chapman to the Cubs during the 2016 season. With the Cubs, Chapman won Game 7 of the 2016 World Series. He signed with the Yankees after the 2016 season. On July 11, 2014, Chapman broke the record, previously held by Bruce Sutter, for the most consecutive relief appearances with a strikeout, having struck out at least one batter in 40 consecutive appearances. Chapman's streak began on August 21, 2013, and lasted 49 consecutive games over two seasons, with the 49th and final game being on August 13, 2014. He shares (with Jordan Hicks) the record for the fastest recorded pitch speed in MLB history, at 105.1 mph, as well as the Guinness World Record for fastest baseball pitch. Prior to the start of the 2016 season, Chapman became the first player to be suspended under MLB's domestic violence policy. Although not charged with a crime, he was suspended for 30 games as a result of "Chapman's use of the firearm and its effect on his partner".