Yankees' Aroldis Chapman Says Pitch That Resulted in Three Game Suspension Was Not Intentional

NEW YORK — Yankees' closer Aroldis Chapman was suspended three games by Major League Baseball on Wednesday afternoon. The decision was made after it was deemed the left-hander intentionally threw a pitch at the head of Tampa Bay's Mike Brosseau in the top of the ninth inning on Tuesday night.

Addressing the pitch that ignited benches to clear at Yankee Stadium, Chapman assured that there was no intent behind his errant heater.

"If you look at my career, you look at the years that I have played in this league, I've never had any issues or ever been in a situation where I've hit anybody on purpose," Chapman said through the Yankees' interpreter. "Of course there were pitches that are close to hitters, but there was never any intention to hit anybody."

The lanky left-hander announced he will be appealing the suspension, calling the league's decision "harsh." He said he will be active for Wednesday night's rematch between the divisional foes. 

The reason for the pitch getting away from Chapman, in the flamethrower's eyes, is his inability to command his fastball this season. He called it a "technical" issue, a combination of his mechanics with the fact that he's only thrown in three innings so far in 2020 after returning from the COVID-19 injured list.

READ: Why the Yankees Chose To Stand Pat at the MLB Trade Deadline

"It's something that I've been dealing with the whole year," he said. "If you look at the stats and look where my pitches have landed it will show it has been a fight for me. There's been moments where I've had to take five, six miles off my fastball just to try to get that command and get strikes. It's unfortunate that happens, but like I said, there was never any intention to hit anybody."

Chapman's manager Aaron Boone was given a one-game ban. Boone, who along with Rays' skipper Kevin Cash will serve the single-game suspension on Wednesday night, had his closer's back.

"No," he said when asked if the suspensions were justified. "I don't think I should be sitting out tonight. Nor Chappy."

Chapman sizzled a 100.5 mph fastball over Brosseau's head with two outs in the ninth inning of the Yankees' 5-3 victory. After the left-hander proceeded to strike out the Rays' pinch-hitter later in the at-bat, both dugouts emptied onto the field, jawing back and forth in close proximity before retreating to their respective clubhouses.

READ: What Led Benches to Clear as Bad Blood Boils Between Yankees and Rays

While the only person that will ever know for sure if the pitch to Brosseau was intentional is Chapman, it doesn't take a player in uniform to recognize the bad blood between these two teams. 

Tensions have flared over their previous nine meetings this summer, matchups in which the Yankees have lost seven games entering the finale of the season series on Wednesday night.

READ: Baseball's Next Best Rivalry: Yankees Take Notice of 'Talented' Rays as Bad Blood Brews

On Tuesday, Cash called the wild pitch "ridiculous" and appeared to threaten the Yankees by exclaiming that he has "a whole damn stable of guys who throw 98 mph."

Boone called Cash's comments made regarding Chapman's pitch "reckless" and "inflammatory," referencing a slew of pitches that the Rays have thrown up and in to New York's infielder DJ LeMahieu as proof that this hasn't been one-sided. 

Nonetheless, the Yankees' manager ended his presser by explaining he's hopeful this feud is a thing of the past and that nobody will get hurt moving forward.

"Hopefully now moving forward cooler heads will prevail and it can be about playing baseball."

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