Aroldis arrives in Chicago with focus on wins

1469578814129

CHICAGO — Aroldis Chapman arrived on Tuesday, saying he’s excited to join the Cubs and has learned from the mistakes he’s made in the past, and he couldn’t explain why he’s throwing with more velocity this season.

“It feels very good to wear a Chicago Cubs uniform,” Chapman said, sitting in the visitors’ dugout at U.S. Cellular Field. “There’s a lot of expectations here in Chicago, and I’m here to do my job and try to win a World Series.”

Cubs chairman Tom Ricketts and president of baseball operations Theo Epstein talked to Chapman on the phone Monday before finalizing the trade with the Yankees for the hard-throwing lefty. Chapman began this season serving a 30-game suspension covered by Major League Baseball’s domestic violence policy after a dispute with his girlfriend in South Florida.

• Cubs get Chapman from Yanks in blockbuster

Chapman did not relay details of the phone conversation, and when pressed by the media, he said he was focusing on playing the game.

“I’m confident now that everything is going to be fine, and I’m going to be the best person I can be,” Chapman said through coach Henry Blanco. “Everything is fine with my family, with my girlfriend — my fianceé.

“We all make mistakes. I feel I’m a better person now. I just want to play the game now.”

Chapman said he was sleeping when he got the phone call, which prompted more …

continue reading in source mlb.mlb.com

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *