Yankees forced Red Sox fans to watch the real Aroldis Chapman and it was glorious

There are a lot of former Yankees players in the modern era that New York fans absolutely dislike: Joey Gallo, Josh Donaldson, Aaron Hicks, Sonny Gray, just to name a few. But Aroldis Chapman, after what he's done with the Boston Red Sox this year, might take the cake.

The left-hander, who couldn't find the plate if his life depended on it for the better part of the end of his Yankees tenure from 2020-2022, is all of a sudden dotting corners and dialing up the radar gun to levels we haven't seen on a consistent basis since he was a young All-Star with the Cincinnati Reds.

He is on pace for a career year. He has a 1.28 ERA, 1.71 FIP and 0.69 WHIP with 81 strikeouts 56 1/3 innings. He's been good for 3.2 WAR. He received his first All-Star nod since 2021. He has been a massive reason the Red Sox are in the position they are at the moment. And when Yankees fans found out Chapman's favorite MLB team was the Sox, that was it.

After being unhittable all year, though, Chapman's finally begun to show some cracks. He blew the game against the Athletics on Wednesday, his first since July 23. His streak of 17 hitless appearances ended.

And on Saturday, Yankees fans were vindicated as Chapman reverted back to his New York days as he tried to keep the game within reach for Boston. In a 4-3 game, Alex Cora called on Chapman to face the top of the Yankees order in the top of the ninth. Red Sox fans were delivered the experience Yankees fans know all too well.

After getting Trent Grisham and Ben Rice to line out, Chapman went head-to-head with Judge, who almost took the closer's head off with a rocket single. That brought Cody Bellinger to the plate, who gave Chapman fits in an at-bat that was all too familiar for Yankees fans, who watched Chapman do this to far inferior hitters while he was in New York.

Yankees forced Red Sox fans to watch the real Aroldis Chapman and it was glorious

Will the real Aroldis Chapman please stand up? There he is! Can't find the plate. Wild pitches moving the runners into scoring position. Shocked when his pitches right outside the zone aren't called strikes. Melting down when he's one out away from keeping the game within reach. We've all been there.

Bellinger, on the ninth pitch of the at-bat, sent an offering from Chapman off the Green Monster to drive in Judge. That made it a 5-3 game, giving the Yankees an important insurance run after Fernando Cruz surrendered a solo homer the inning prior to make it a one-run game.

The Yankees went on to win the game (and the series) as they look for the sweep on Sunday Night Baseball. Playing with house money, baby.

After the game, Cora spoke to the media and downplayed the Red Sox's chances of making the playoffs, in what was an objectively crazy interview. Boston is tied with the Houston Astros and Seattle Mariners in the race and are two games ahead of the Texas Rangers.

As it stands, if the season ended today, the Yankees would host the Red Sox in the Wild Card series. But it's quite possible these last two wins have played a role in shattering Boston's morale. A Chapman meltdown? A Red Sox collapse? We can only dream.