• Submitted by: manso
• Sports
• 08 / 22 / 2010

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Cuban coming into his own

LOUISVILLE - One hundred miles from the bright lights of the major leagues, Aroldis Chapman has enthusiastically embraced his new role as 102-mile-per-hour closer.

But not without growing pains.

Last Tuesday night, Louisville Bats pitching coach Ted Power, a former Reds closer, called for his 22-year-old reliever to warm up quickly to pitch the ninth inning.

But Chapman couldn't be found.

"What the h . . . " Power said.

A 1-0 game and I can't find my closer?)

The $30 million man was on a bathroom break.

Upon being located in the Bats clubhouse, Chapman politely asked Power through an interpreter: "What do you want me to do, wet my pants?"

"Yes," Power responded. "You be here when it's your time. There won't be any excuses in the big leagues."

The big leagues are a long way from Havana, Cuba, and an even a longer way from Holquin province, where Albertin Aroldis Chapman de la Cruz was born on Sept. 11, 1987.

Holquin is one province away from the eastern-most tip of the island, and Holquin is where Christopher Columbus is said to have landed on Oct. 27, 1492. Also born and raised here were Fidel Castro, and his brother, Raul.

American baseball fans tend to think of Cuban ballplayers as having grown up with the game and, if anything, even more steeped in the fundamentals of the national pastime than are U.S. players.

But these American fans are thinking of an earlier Cuba, the one of Tony Perez, and Leo Cardenas and Zoilo Versalles Cuban natives who got off the island before Fidel Castro's revolution had firmly taken hold.

Chapman is one of the "new breed." More coaching is required these days: Covering first base on batted balls to the right side . . . backing up the bases . . . bunting.

Every day for the first 21/2 months of the Louisville Bats season, Chapman had to be on the field at 3 p.m. for 7 p.m. games.

He had no idea of how much work was involved. The daily flip of the calendar - only two days off per month in Triple-A - was even harder to fathom.

"When I put on the board, 'Be here at 3 p.m.,' " said Bats manager Rick Sweet, "it was tough at first for him to understand the punctuality and personal responsibility in that. It took Aroldis a while to manage his time, to learn to 'check your watch, get your sleep, figure out when you're going to eat.' He'd show up at the ballpark and hadn't eaten. But I think he's got a handle on it now, to where he's controlling his life, not needing somebody else to control it for him."

Chapman also knows now to call his interpreter, Bats trainer Tomas Vera, if he's going to be late.

"When we can't get hold of Aroldis, that's when we get scared," Sweet says.

Chapman's English, which was non-existent when the Reds first signed him, has improved a bit, but the formal classes have slipped by the wayside, say his teammates.

Bilingual teammates like Yonder Alonso (he was born and raised in Cuba until age 9) have helped some with the language, but say progress is slow. Chapman hangs out mostly with the Latin players, and lives with Juan Francisco, who just completed a brief stint in Cincinnati.

By John Erardi

Source: http://news.cincinnati.com/a