Aroldis Chapman sets new record of consecutive saves for the club – MLB News
Booking a prominent place in the Cincinnati Reds' history, closer Aroldis Chapman on Tuesday expressed his happiness over the record for consecutive saves. Playing against the Arizona Diamondbacks on Monday, the closer had his 24th save in a row, bringing glory to him and the club.
"I feel happy now. I knew there was a record," Chapman said through an interpreter. "I'm happy it's me that broke this record and it's part of the history of this team."
Previously it was John Franco, who had set the record in 1988 and Rob Dribble made it to the list in 1991. With Monday’s record setting save, Chapman now has 32 saves in the 59 games that he has appeared this season.
The impressive 1.29 ERA with 112 strike-outs, speaks volume of the excellence Chapman has maintained, allowing merely 30 hits and 15 walks in these games with 62 innings that he has pitched.
Chapman has provided a seemingly invulnerable strength to the club, making the bullpen one of the strongest in the National League. With his extraordinary performance, Chapman is now a favourite contender for National League Cy Young Award.
Winning that apparently is not difficult for him given the stats. The fact that the Reds dominate the National League Central serves as an evidence of mastery in almost all aspects of the game, especially in pitching.
As for the Cy Young Award, Chapman keeps his fingers crossed for that. "I know what it is, but I haven't thought about it," Chapman said. "Honestly, it's hard to be a reliever and win a Cy Young. Of course, I would love to."
But he does not shy away to state who he thinks should win the Award. "If somebody has to win it, I think it should be Cueto," Chapman said.
As mentioned earlier, the Reds have established their superiority beyond any doubt as far as pitching is concerned. Their retaining the top spot in the NL Central is testament to it. It will be interesting to see how the Reds maintain this superiority in the playoffs as the regular season nears an end.
Tags: