Yankees: This insane stat proves Aroldis Chapman just isn’t made for the postseason

Yankees closer Aroldis Chapman is quite literally one of the least clutch postseason pitchers in history.

Call it bad luck. Call it wrong place, wrong time. Call it poor play. Whatever you want. But there’s no avoiding this Aroldis Chapman statistic that will undoubtedly haunt New York Yankees fans until he’s no longer a member of the team.

Chapman, for the second postseason in a row, gave up a late home run in the playoffs to end the Yankees’ 2020 campaign. Last year it was Jose Altuve’s walk-off blast in Game 6 of the ALCS. This year it was Mike Brosseau’s solo shot in the bottom of the eighth in Game 5 of the ALDS.

And those two homers put Chapman in playoff infamy. This further proves he’s unable to deliver in the clutch.

Three of those, of course, came while he was a member of the Yankees, dating back to 2017. And this isn’t even counting the game-tying three-run homer he allowed to Rajai Davis in Game 7 of the World Series against the Cleveland Indians! His postseason futility could be unmatched.

This is across a 35-game sample size. During his Yankees playoff career, he has six saves compared to three losses. The three times he came in late to help preserve the tie, he failed. For as good as he is during the regular season, it’s hard to justify paying him $16 million if this is the result in the playoffs.

We’re not so sure why you think that, Mr. Cashman. Chapman has appeared in 17 postseason games for the Yankees and has lost three of them. And if not for a miraculous defensive play by Gio Urshela against the Cleveland Indians in the AL Wild Card round this year, it’d be four. He’s only shut the door six times. He was only used five times in 13 combined postseason games against the Astros in 2017 and 2019. On top of his unimpressive save numbers in October, he can’t keep games tied!

The only hope? Chapman’s postseason performance balances itself out if he remains with the team in 2021 and 2022. He can’t keep doing this, right?

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