PHOENIX -- You think hitting Aroldis Chapman in the All-Star Game was hard? Try catching him.
That was the task put to Taira Uematsu, the Giants bullpen catcher who made the trip to Cincinnati and warmed up every National League pitcher from the second inning on. Uematsu caught Gerrit Cole, who tops out at 100 mph, and Jacob deGrom, who regularly sits at 97, but he said there isn't another pitcher in the league who is in Chapman's class. Asked what it was like, Uematsu laughed as he gave a two-word quote not fit for print.
"He's just different from everybody else," Uematsu said.