Why isn’t Aroldis Chapman on the New York Yankees playoff roster?

Some of the greatest names in Yankees history have had a rough ending to their time in pinstripes. Think of Reggie Jackson, or more recently Joey Gallo, who so briefly burned bright in baseball’s firmament, only to leave town under a cloud. Even those who remain beloved by Yankee fans are often tarnished in the end, like in the case of A-Rod’s drug use.

Of course there are just as many who were beloved and bright to the end of their careers, but for every Derek Jeter or Yogi Berra, there is an Andy Pettitte or Roger Clemens to muddy the waters.

To succeed in New York, indeed in order to get the Yankees attention in the first place, a player must crash their way into baseball’s collective consciousness by doing huge things. And the line between brash and annoying is often razor thin.

Aroldis Chapman is the poster boy for brash. The Cuban rocket launcher holds the record for throwing the fastest pitch ever recorded in an MLB game when he threw a fastball clocked at 105.1 mph.

At the end of August, Chapman went onto the injured list by getting a tattoo on his leg which became infected. He had only just been reactivated after a lengthy recuperation from Achilles tendonitis.

Many in the organization saw the 34-year-old’s actions as inexcusable. With the investment tied up in Chapman, they would argue that he had a duty to report any discomfort to the team, discomfort such as a pus-covered tattoo which had been left untreated for weeks.

So when Aroldis decided that he preferred to stay in Miami rather than report for a live batting practice workout during the Yankees’ first-round bye of the playoffs, the team didn’t read it as brash, but rather as the end of the road.

“He was scheduled to be here Friday as part of our workout with the live [batting practice]. Was not, and not what I thought was an acceptable excuse. So I’ve had him stay away for now,” said Yankees manager Aaron Boone.

Yankees GM Brian Cashman seconded his decision, saying, “You’ve got to be all in at this time of year, and it’s disappointing. He effectively made that type of decision. He was due to pitch a live [batting practice], obviously to get his work in as he was competing for his spot on the roster, as well as facing our hitters to give them that type of competition as we navigate the off-days of between the Wild Card Series and our Division Series about to start Tuesday. Again I can’t give any information on that, it’s just disappointing.”

The Yankees would be better off with Aroldis Chapman in the lineup, for sure, but sometimes it isn’t about the talent that you bring to the field but the atmosphere that you foster in the clubhouse.

The Yankees feel that Chapman needs to keep his distance so that the attitude that he brings, the idea that it is ok to skip a workout just before the ALDS, infects the rest of the team. Sometimes you just have to stop the rot.

It is a difficult decision to make, because Aroldis is a supremely gifted pitcher and although the Yankees need all the help that they can get going into the series against Cleveland, Brian Cashman is adamant that the Bronx Bombers will find a way to win utilising the rest of their roster.

“We’re going to have what we have here and give people who are competing and dying to be on this roster, fighting to be on this roster and want to be on this roster. Even though those decisions haven’t been made yet, again, he chose to be absent.”

As Chapman enters free agency at the end of the season, it would be safe to say that his time in New York has come to an end, not by fizzling out or even in a grand explosion, but in some strange, inexplicable type of surrender.