TAMPA, Fla. (CBSNewYork/AP) — In his first outing since Game 7 of last year’s World Series, New York Yankees closer Aroldis Chapman hit 100 mph on the radar gun with his second pitch of spring training.
The hard-throwing closer struck out Baltimore’s Chris Dickerson and Trey Mancini, and induced a grounder by Logan Schafer during a perfect fourth inning that took 16 pitches Thursday night.
“At this point, velocity is not important,” Chapman said through a translator. “What’s important is the location on the pitches. That’s really what I’m working on.”
Chapman plans to pitch about eight innings this spring.