Joe Maddon Responds To Criticism From Aroldis Chapman
Joe Maddon is a living legend in Chicago now that he broke the curse that kept the Chicago Cubs from winning the World Series for over 100 years. Ask any Cubs fan and they will likely tell you that Maddon could do no wrong, but during the World Series, he made a questionable decision in Game 6 in regards to bringing in the star closer of the Cubs, Aroldis Chapman.
According to ESPN, Aroldis Chapman feels that Joe Maddon misused him by bringing in the closer in a non-save situation during Game 6 of the World Series.
“Personally, I don’t agree with the way he used me, but he is the manager and he has the strategy. My job is to be ready, to be ready to pitch, however that is, however many innings that is, I need to be ready for that. I need to go in and do my job.
“There were couple of games, but the one I can point to is Game 6. The game was open and I don’t think he needed to [leave] me in the ninth. The important game was going to be Game 7 because we had that game almost won. The next day I came in tired.”
Even though Chapman spoke out against Maddon, he went to discuss what life as a baseball closer is like.
“If I’m healthy, I’m going to go out there and pitch. If I’m tired, I’m going to put that aside and just get through it. It is kind of like a warrior, they send you somewhere and you have to go there and your mentality is you have to go there and do your job.”
Chapman does not have to worry about any retaliatory action against him from Joe Maddon since he signed a deal to become the closer of the New York Yankees next season.
Did Joe Maddon use Aroldis Chapman properly during the World Series? At the time, baseball experts were questioning as to why Maddon would have Chapman pitching at the end of Game 6. These same experts questioned the decision again, when in Game 7, it was clear that Chapman was out of gas. At the end of the day, it worked out for the Cubs since they won the World Series.
The New York Post reached out to Joe Maddon to get his response to Chapman’s statements.
“I appreciate what he said. If he feels that way, he did not tell me about that at the moment or after the moment. At the end of the day, man, we would not have won without him, and I appreciate everything he did. But I promise everything we did do, we did with his consent by talking to him prior to the game.”
Joe Maddon did mention what he thought he did wrong during Game 6 of the World Series.
“The part I screwed up with I didn’t have someone warming up in the ninth once Rizzo hit the home run.”
Maddon could have easily taken offense to any of the statements that Aroldis Chapman said. Instead, Maddon told the Post just how good of a pitcher that the former Cubs closer is.
“He’s a force. His fastball is the best, and the other thing people don’t realize his slider is so good. After we clinched [in September], we had him throwing his slider more, and it’s a good pitch. I think as he moves forward, as he gets comfortable with his catcher, he will throw that slider and that is going to make him even more dominant.”
With Joe Maddon giving the Chicago Cubs their first World Series title in over a century, fans will likely forgive him for any managerial mistakes he makes in the near future.
Do you think Joe Maddon used Aroldis Chapman improperly during the World Series?
[Featured Image by Paul Beaty/AP Photo]
