Aroldis Chapman must have forgotten where he was.
The flame-throwwing reliever for the Cincinnati Reds was caught trying to match his speedometer to the velocity of his fastball.
Chapman was stopped by police in Grove City, a suburb of Columbus, for driving 93 mph northbound on Interstate 71 just before 1 a.m. on Monday. He was arrested and charged with speeding and driving with a suspended license.
He was released on bond and has a scheduled court appearance on June 6.
The incident could not have come at a worse time for Chapman. He was arrested just a few short hours after recording his first save of the year in the Reds' 5-2 win over the Yankees. That performance put him in the lead to grab the Reds' closer spot.
The Reds have had difficulty finding a reliable closer. They lost Ryan Madsen for the season after a torn ligament in his elbow. Sean Marshall took over but struggled. This created an opportunity for Chapman, who sports a 0.00 ERA.
Chapman was given a six-ear, $30.25 million contract in 2010 after he fled from Cuba. Long thought to be a starting pitcher, he was moved to the bullpen when he was called up because the rotation was set and the Reds were on to the playoff. He flourished in his new role.
This season, Chapman was planned to work as a starter, until injuries took a toll on the team's bullpen and Chapman was forced to go back. For the year, he's given up just seven hits, one unearned run while striking out 39 in 22 1/3 innings. His performance made manager Dusty Baker put him in consideration for the closer sport.
"He graduated to the setup role," Baker said. "Now, hopefully, he's graduated -- which we think he might have -- to the closer's role. It just depends on how often you can use him."
However, news of his arrest will surely hurt those chances. General manager Walt Jocketty and manager Dusty Baker did not know about the arrest before Monday's game. Chapman would not have pitched in the matchup regardless as he threw several days in a row.
Chapman is certainly the best option for the closer position based on talent. However, Chapman has suffered shoulder problems in the past. This limits his appearances and if he can only pitch two days in a row, it could cause a problem.
Now add in the arrest and it's another concern for the Reds. Dusty Baker has said that he does not want to use a rotating shuffle of closers, instead he wants one closer to finish their games.
All the talent aside, is Aroldis Chapman the man you can count on at this point in his career?
Only time will tell.
