The Boston Red Sox overhauled their pitching staff last winter and with that comes plenty of “revenge games.” Some of those games may come against inferior opponents like when Garrett Crochet will go up against the Chicago White Sox. Others may have more sentimental value like Walker Buehler going up against the team he was a World Series hero for, the Los Angeles Dodgers.
With that said, sometimes the narrative is more exciting for the fans than the players. But when those two avenues meet, it’s an exciting experience. The good news is that there’s one new Red Sox pitcher that has a game circled on the calendar and it just so happens that “revenge game” will come against the New York Yankees.
Red Sox Closer Aroldis Chapman is Excited to Get Revenge Against Yankees
New Red Sox closer Aroldis Chapman won the job by beating out Liam Hendriks during Spring Training and is set to help Boston win some games this year. But while the left-hander has plenty of closing experience, he revealed during an ESPN broadcast on Tuesday that his biggest dream is closing out a game at Yankee Stadium as a member of the Red Sox.
Chapman has a good reason for wanting revenge. The 37-year-old spent six and a half seasons with the Yankees, originally signing with the team in 2016. It was his longest tenure with one team in the major leagues, going 24-14 with a 2.94 ERA and 153 saves in 315 appearances.
A good chunk of that action came in 172 appearances at Yankee Stadium. Chapman recorded 83 of his X career saves in the Bronx and put up solid numbers posting a 3.18 ERA and 249 strikeouts over 161.1 innings. But even with all of that success, Chapman admitted there was something different about facing the Yankees as a member of the Red Sox and wanted to “feel that adrenaline” when he got the opportunity.
Chapman and the Red Sox will face the Yankees 13 times during the upcoming season, but he could get his first chance to act out his revenge plans when Boston travels to the Bronx on June 6.