Baseball’s hardest throwers still look up to Red Sox closer Aroldis Chapman

PHILADELPHIA — While pitchers are constantly redefining the limits of hard throwing, the confluence of baseball’s rocket-armed elite at the All-Star Game underscored the stature of Red Sox closer Aroldis Chapman as the gold standard of baseball’s 21st century Velocity Era.

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What does Chapman, who was selected for his ninth All-Star Game this year despite his sinker averaging “only” 98.0 miles per hour, represent to baseball’s hardest throwers?

“A really high bar,” said Brewers ace Jacob Misiorowski. “That dude’s been doing it for a long time, and it’s honestly outstanding what he’s done. The work that he puts in day in, day out is insane.”

“Just the success he’s had in his career, and the heightened levels of success he’s had these past two seasons is really, really incredible,” said Padres closer Mason Miller. “You don’t see guys doing it for that long at that clip.”

Chapman relishes his place atop the sport’s Velocity Everest and the efforts of younger peers to ascend it. He stopped Misiorowski and Miller at the All-Star Game to take a picture together.

Given the number of pitchers pushing their biomechanical limits, it seems remarkable that Chapman still holds the mark for the hardest-thrown pitch in baseball’s pitch-tracking era (2008-present), a 105.8-m.p.h. four-seamer on Sept. 24, 2010.

Then again, when Chapman threw his record-setting heater, only one other pitcher (Neftalí Feliz) had reached 104 m.p.h.

“Aroldis was just such an outlier that you knew it would hold up in a sense. Physically, he’s just next level,” said Andrew Miller, Chapman’s former teammate who now works with the MLB Players Association. “I think we knew he was just so far ahead of everybody that those records would last for a little while.”

Mason Miller, who has topped out at 104.2 m.p.h., said he can’t even aspire to reaching Chapman’s velocity mark.

“It doesn’t really feel reachable right now,” he said. “I’m still a couple miles an hour back.”

Misiorowski, on the other hand, unleashed a 105.5-m.p.h. pitch this year, making a run at Chapman’s mark conceivable.

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“I would love to be the guy to take down 106 [m.p.h.],” he said. “It’s one of those things that you want to shoot for, but at the same time you can’t hope for it and can’t pray for it. I mean, you can pray for it, but … ”

For now, Chapman maintains his place as the record-holder. He will gladly cede the title.

“I think it’s a matter of time before that record is broken,” he said via translator. “I’m going to be proud of whoever breaks that record. The pitch that I threw for the record is already in the past. I already did that. Whoever comes and takes it up, I’ll be happy for them.”

After they closed the first half with a 9-0 trip, the Red Sox have the fifth-highest road winning percentage in baseball (29-21, .580), while their 17-27 (.386) home record is the worst in baseball. But they are hopeful that the energy at the ballpark will be changed, especially if the team can build on the strong kick with which it entered the All-Star break.

“We’re excited to get back to Fenway and then see Fenway cheering for us because we’re on a good run,” said outfielder Ceddanne Rafaela. “I know what these fans do when we win ballgames.”

“April, I get [that] the fans were mad we weren’t playing good. May was the same. I was just trying to not to pay attention to them,” added first baseman Willson Contreras. “But now, it’s getting better. The energy that Fenway brings is really unique … I just love it there.”

Contreras repeatedly blasted tape-measure shots in the Home Run Derby, then went 1 for 1 in the All-Star Game. Was that a sign that the left ankle he bruised with a foul ball on July 8 is healed?

“It’s better, but it’s still painful,” said Contreras, who will conclude his suspension by sitting out of the first game of Friday’s doubleheader. “When I get back to Boston, when I get to meet with the manager, I’ll explain to him what I can do and what I cannot do. We’ll see what’s going to happen, but I don’t think I’m going to miss any more days.”

With the Red Sox and Rays opening the second half with a four-game weekend series at Fenway, rookie Jake Bennett will start Game 1 Friday. For now, the Sox haven’t announced a starter for Game 2. Lefthander Patrick Sandoval will start on Saturday, followed by Sonny Gray on Sunday. The Rays have Griffin Jax starting Game 1 on Friday, Mason Englert or an opener in Game 2, then lefthanders Ian Seymour and Shane McClanahan on Saturday and Sunday.

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