Joe Girardi walks tightrope on Aroldis Chapman abuse case
New York Yankees' Joe Girardi on the field during Spring Training at George M. Steinbrenner Field in Tampa Florida. Feb. 23, 2016 Credit: Thomas A. Ferrara
TAMPA, Fla. — The lack of any criminal prosecution against Aroldis Chapman has been the Yankees’ lone defense since trading for the embattled relief pitcher last month. When Chapman took the unusual step Tuesday of proclaiming his innocence, however, Joe Girardi didn’t seem quite ready to declare a mistrial in the court of public opinion.
With commissioner Rob Manfred expected to give his disciplinary ruling any minute now on Chapman’s domestic abuse allegations, the Yankees have been relegated to the impossible situation of expressing their contempt for the crime — but not the target of those accusations, a player who happens to wear their pinstriped uniform.
Despite MLB’s ongoing investigation, Chapman already has publicly revealed his pre-emptive plan to appeal — without even knowing the punishment — and flatly stated Tuesday his motive for that was obvious.
“I haven’t hurt anybody,” Chapman said through his interpreter.
That should be good news, right? If Chapman is to be believed, then maybe Broward County’s decision not to pursue domestic violence charges against him was indeed a reflection of flimsy evidence rather than others muddying the water with conflicting testimony and uncooperative witnesses.
But Girardi, oddly enough, didn’t immediately rally around Chapman’s words. After admitting Tuesday that he finally did read the police report, the Yankees’ manager acknowledged the unseemly episode was too complicated to be dismissed by a five-minute conversation at Chapman’s locker, even with the denial.
“Obviously, you hope that’s the case,” Girardi said. “And it appears that — from what I read — I don’t think there were marks on her. But abuse doesn’t always need to be physical. It’s not always physical. There’s all kinds of abuse. But you hope that’s the case.”
That’s what the Yankees have clung to all along amid the public outrage over Chapman, from Brian Cashman’s “due diligence” before completing the trade with the Reds to Hal Steinbrenner going the innocent-until-proven-guilty route once the Yankees came under fire for what many believed — at best — was showing questionable judgment. But mostly, since the start of spring training, the questions have been left to Chapman and Girardi to answer, with the Yankees’ clubhouse again becoming a Petri dish for another social experiment.
That’s also twice in two years, as the Yankees faced a similar situation with Alex Rodriguez’s return from his PED suspension last February. To be clear, in no way are we suggesting the crimes are alike — just the manner in which the Yankees had to speak out against the behavior, yet welcome the player guilty of it.
Or in Chapman’s case, alleged guilt. The one thing not in dispute is Chapman firing his handgun that same night into the wall of his garage, and that also will play a role in Manfred’s decision. Whatever punishment ultimately is handed down, the Yankees seem prepared to move forward. It’s not an approach that’s unique to them, either. Every team, in every league, has been through their own ethical and moral dilemmas, forced to strike a bargain they can stomach.
“I think when you’re in a management position, even if you’re a teammate, you have a responsibility to each other, to help each other,” Girardi said. “My thought it to make people better people. And try to help them though the situations that they’ve gone through. Because no one is perfect, and there’s no one that doesn’t wish that he could have done something different if he had time to think about his actions.”
Of course, Chapman can’t apologize or express regret, because that in essence would be copping to something that he claimed Tuesday he didn’t do. So what’s better for the Yankees? Simply believing Chapman — or finding out the truth, if those versions don’t happen to match up? Either way, Chapman is one of them now, and that means they’re stuck on the same side, tied together, regardless of the outcome.
“I don’t know if we’ll every truly know exactly what happened,” Girardi said. “There’s different accounts. Obviously when there’s domestic violence brought up, it’s a concern. It’s a real concern. It’s a concern in our society, it’s a concern for me, and you worry about it.”
But what’s done is done. The only thing left is Manfred’s ruling, followed by the likely appeal, before the conversation changes back to baseball. And Chapman sure was impressive again during Tuesday’s bullpen session.
David Lennon is an award-winning columnist, a voter for baseball's Hall of Fame and has covered six no-hitters, including two perfect games.
