Aroldis Chapman remains mystery off the field

Cincinnati.com/

In the midst of the best stretch of his professional career, Reds pitcher Aroldis Chapman had a miserable week.

On the field, the man with the dazzling fastball was finally named the closer for his red-hot team. He picked up saves against the Yankees and the Braves and then a win. Remarkably, he has not allowed a single earned run all season.

Off the field, things were not so good. At 12:42 a.m. Monday, Chapman was pulled over for allegedly driving 93 miles per hour in Grove City, just south of Columbus. The officer arrested him after he discovered Chapman had a suspended Kentucky driver’s license, according to a police report. It’s at least the fourth time Chapman has been caught speeding since he was issued a license two years ago.

Before the saves and before the blue lights in his rear view mirror, a man filed a federal lawsuit May 18 in Miami, seeking $18 million in damages from Chapman. Danilo Curbello Garcia claims that Chapman conspired with the Departamento de Seguridad del Estado, the Cuban secret police, just so he could play baseball in Cuba.

This accusation, unproven and possibly nothing more than a money grab, is potentially very damaging.

Garcia says Chapman fabricated a story about him, and then testified against him in court to endear himself to Cuban authorities. Garcia says Chapman did this so he could return to baseball after being kicked off the national team as the result of a failed defection attempt. That man now sits in a Cuban prison, while Chapman pitches for the Reds.  More >>