Mike Brosseau took a breath, thought about revenge and swung.
Thirty-nine days earlier, Yankees closer Aroldis Chapman had nearly decapitated him with a 101-mph fastball that the Rays felt sure was intentional. The benches cleared. Afterward, Tampa Bay manager Kevin Cash warned New York that he had “a whole damn stable full of guys that throw 98 miles an hour.”
Now the two bitter rivals were locked in a tie in the eighth inning of the winner-take-all Game 5 of the American League Division Series. Brosseau stood at the plate. Chapman stood on the mound. Some of their teammates thought back to that moment in September.