Written by Bob Nightengale at USAToday.com
The sellout crowd at Wrigley Fieldstood on their feet Wednesday night, but instead of paying attention what was happening on the field, they stared breathlessly at the scoreboard.
Even the Chicago Cubs’ players admitted to peeking at the scoreboard after every pitch, with everyone wanting to catch new Cubs’ closer Aroldis Chapman’s radar gun reading in the ninth inning.
Chapman started off at 101 mph, and then 102 mph, and ended the game with Avisail Gacia staring at a 103 mph fastball over the heart of the plate.
Just like that, Chapman has changed the way Cubs’ fans watch baseball, turning a Cubs’ 8-1 rout over the Chicago White Sox into a subplot for his ninth-inning thrill ride.
“You can’t help but look,’’ Cubs center fielder Dexter Fowler said, “wondering how fast he’ll throw next. He must have been tired tonight, right? He only threw 103 mph.’’
The man was that electric, with Chapman throwing 12 pitches at 100 mph or faster in his Cubs’ debut, keeping every single fan in their seats.
The boisterous crowd of 41,166 actually started cheering when they saw Chapman make his way towards the Cubs’ bullpen in the seventh inning. It grew louder watching him warm up. When he strolled towards the mound, they stood on their feet, turning the cheers into a deafening roar, screaming, “Let’s Go Chapman.’’
“It was entertaining,’’ Cubs manager Joe Maddon said. “The crowd was excited, and I was, too. I’ve seen it on the wrong side, it’s nice to have it your side. He’s unusual. You just don’t see that.’’
If there were any boos at all because of Chapman’s domestic violence incident nine months ago, they were drowned out by wild cheers. There were no protests outside of Wrigley Field. No signs.
Really, the only sign of anger was from Chapman himself, who was incensed at the line of questioning from his introductory press conference Tuesday, with several Chicago columnists ridiculing the Cubs for acquiring him.
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