How Yankees' Aroldis Chapman fixed his dominant fastball (PHOTOS)

NEW YORK --  Yankeescloser Aroldis Chapman's struggles have vanished and he credits a change in the grip of his blazing fastball as one of the biggest reasons they may be gone for good.

Chapman's dominance was on display when he got five crucial outs and the save in Monday's 2-1 win over the Twins at Yankee Stadium.

Tasked to a one-run lead in the eighth inning, Dellin Betances hit a batter and walked a pair to leave the bases loaded with one out. Chapman got out of the mess in four pitches. He struck out Joe Mauer on three pitches and immediately forced a pop out to end the inning.

Then he tossed a 1-2-3 ninth, staring down Eduardo Escobar after pumping a 103.7-mph heater past him for the final out.

Just a few weeks ago, in the deepest scuffles of his career, Chapman had almost no fastball command. It led to manager Joe Girardi yanking the closer job from him.

He's gotten it back with the help of a new grip he worked on with pitching coach Larry Rothschild.

Chapman's fastball wasn't hitting its target when he was playing his middle and pointer fingers over the seam, he said. Here's a look at the old grip:

The fastball grip Yankees closer Aroldis Chapman was using when his fastball was as erratic as it had ever been. (Brendan Kuty | NJ Advance Media for

So Rothschild suggested he try a typical four-seam grip and it's made all the difference, Chapman said.

The fastball grip Yankees closer Aroldis Chapman has used, under the guidance of pitching coach Larry Rothschild, to rediscover control of the pitch. (Brendan Kuty | NJ Advance Media for

(Note: Photography isn't allowed in the Yankees' clubhouse, so I had Chapman show me the grips and I took these pictures outside of it. And I have a cut on my finger. It's still there. You don't want to see it. Also, maybe I could have asked Chapman to let me take pictures of his hand gripping the ball during batting practice, but I didn't think of it at the time.)

"It's been an improvement," he said, via team translator Marlon Abreu. "The fastball is cutting less and I'm able to get more strikes with it right now."

Girardi said he's noticed way better fastball command from Chapman, who hasn't allowed a run in six outings.

"Yes," Girardi said, "that's the big thing. And he's ahead in the count a lot more, too. The at-bats aren't nearly as long. That makes the big difference."
