SchadenfReds: Aroldis Chapman Arrested for Crazy Speeding on a Suspended License

Aroldis Chapman was clearly just trying to drive faster than he can pitch.

The Cincinnati Reds’ newly-appointed closer was arrested in the wee hours of Monday morning near Columbus for driving 93mph … with a suspended license.

Chapman, 24, was released after posting bond, and has a court date scheduled for June 6.

The incident is strange not only for the suspended license and the ridiculous speed (seriously, dude, that’s incredibly dangerous and not cool), but also because of where it happened. Despite what those not in flyover country might think, Cincinnati and Columbus aren’t particularly close (unless you’re going 93mph, I suppose). The two cities are about 110 miles apart, and separated by about two hours drive time under normal circumstances. The Reds had just beaten the Yankees on Sunday in a game that wrapped up just shy of 4pm in New York. Eight hours later, Chapman was in Columbus – not Cincinnati – driving around after midnight? The Reds played Monday evening in Cincy, but Chapman was going to have the night off no matter what, after having pitched multiple days before. Maybe he had a great excuse for being so far from home since he wasn’t going to pitch that day anyway, but it strikes me as odd. And, if he didn’t have a great excuse, I’d be a tad annoyed if I were the Reds.

Chapman’s manager Dusty Baker made sure to downplay the whole thing.

“I don’t know what happened exactly, we talked to him,” Baker said. “He got a speeding ticket. That can happen to anybody. His people are taking care of it, and we’re helping him.”