The Cuban Missile, By the Numbers

C. Trent Rosecrans highlights how out-of-this world Aroldis Chapman has been this season:

With six games remaining in the season, Chapman is on pace to set a major league record by striking out 51.9 percent of the batters he's faced this season. In all, Chapman's faced 181 batters, and 94 of those have struck out. The only other pitcher to have ever struck out more than 50 percent of the batters he's faced was Braves reliever Craig Kimbrel, who struck out 50.2 percent of the batters he faced in 2012.
Chapman's also looking to become the first pitcher since PITCHf/x technology was installed in all 30 parks in 2008 to average 100 miles per hour on his fastball.
This season, Chapman has thrown 371 pitches that have been measured at 100 mph or more. All the other pitchers in baseball have combined to throw 151. In all, 16 pitchers have thrown pitches that have hit 100 mph, according to PITCHf/x. After Chapman, the Royals' Kelvin Herrera has thrown the next most with 54. His teammate, Yordano Ventura, is third with 39. The Cardinals' Carlos Martinez (18) and Erik Cordier (13) of the Giants round out the top five and are the only other pitchers in double figures. Of the 16 to hit triple digits, seven have done it just once, including the Reds' Jumbo Diaz (a first-pitch ball to Casey McGehee on Aug. 9 that was 100.1 mph.)
The triple digits have become so commonplace with Chapman that it takes 101 mph or more to really get the crowd murmuring at Great American Ball Park.
Even 101 has seemed pedestrian for Reds fans, as Chapman has thrown pitches 101 or better on 141 occasions just at Great American Ball Park this season. Overall, he's thrown 195 pitches at 101 or better and the rest of Major League Baseball's pitchers have six — two each by the Royals' Herrera and Ventura and one each by Cordier and the Phillies' Ken Giles. And of those, only Herrera has thrown 101.1 or better, clocking one at 101.1 and one at 101.4.
Chapman's fastest pitch this season was measured at 103.8 mph and it was fouled off by Arizona's Paul Goldschmidt on July 28. Goldschmidt would strike out on a foul tip on a 103.1 mph fastball in that at-bat. In all, Chapman has 11 fastballs that were 103 (including the pitch to Goldscmidt, the lone one that would be rounded up to 104). He has thrown 54 pitches between 102.0 and 102.9 mph.

The man is in a league of his own.