Former Closer Gets Yankees Revenge

The Aroldis Chapman saga was a roller coaster for the New York Yankees from the very beginning. The Cincinnati Reds traded him after accusations of domestic violence, which inevitably led to a suspension. It finished with him missing a mandatory workout and being left off the 2022 postseason roster as a result. In between all that were moments of dominance and sheer sweaty frustration, having multiple back-breaking postseason home runs hit off of him.

Chapman may have sported a nervous smile when Jose Altuve buzzed a homer off of him in the 2019 ALCS, ending the season of what may have been the best team of the Aaron Judge era, and in his return to the Bronx with the Boston Red Sox, he smiled for a different reason. On back-to-back nights, Chapman shut the Yankees down. They had absolutely nothing for him.

INJECT THIS INTO MY VEINS AROLDIS CHAPMAN SHUTS THE DOOR TO GIVE THE RED SOX A 1-0 WIN OVER THE YANKEES pic.twitter.com/70Z1OSRhWM
— Lucasparmenter23 (@Lucasparmenter0) August 23, 2025

In fact, it looked as if he didn't break a sweat. That mound on River Avenue had been caked in that patented Chapman perspiration, and against New York, you would think he was having a morning toss with a teammate.

Toward the end of Chapman's tenure in New York, manager Aaron Boone did everything he could to keep Chapman off the mound. Every Chappie outing became a spectacle of base runners. On one rainy night against the Angels, the Yankees had a comfortable lead. Chapman had an easy lane to work with. After a lengthy delay, Chapman imploded, sending the Bronx faithful who stayed well after midnight home with a bad taste in their mouth. Not to mention, they were as wet as they headed to the exits. Not from sweat but the rain.

The Yankees and their fans suffered through Chapman's spirals year after year, and yet, when an opportunity to do damage against him arose, they went out quietly in the night. In game one against Boston, Chapman came out and threw a dominant inning despite getting no strikeouts. Against the meat of the order, Aaron Judge popped out, Cody Bellinger grounded out, and Giancarlo Stanton did just the same. Chapman blew an effortless 97 MPH fastball against Stanton before eventually shutting him down.

The second game was no different. Ben Rice, Paul Goldschmidt, and Trent Grisham had nothing for Chapman. They went out as sad as the three former MVPs did. After a Goldschmidt groundout, Grisham struck out on a foul tip, and Rice went down swinging as well. Not even their multifaceted boy wonder, Rice, and great starts by Luis Gil and Max Fried could save the Yankees.

The climax was the Yankees losing another one to their division rival. The worst part about it was that fans walked away with nothing in game two. They at least got a bobblehead the night before.

If there's a moral to this story, it's that it doesn't matter how badly somebody makes you feel after a breakup. The ex can have a glow-up, too. In fact, their glow-up can be much better than yours, and their healing journey will be vastly superior. Justice in this universe does not exist.

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