The two hardest-throwing men in the universe have different paths to their results.
Michael Kopech — who came to the White Sox organization from the Boston Red Sox last week in the Chris Sale trade — and Aroldis Chapman were both clocked at throwing 105 mph fastballs in 2016.
Tuesday on Twitter, Kopech kinda/sorta questioned Chapman's workout methods:
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https://twitter.com/MichaelKopech5/status/808683459371794433
But the 20-year-old pitcher clarified and made sure everybody knew he wasn't bashing Chapman in any way, just pointing out that bench press doesn't specifically help pitchers:
https://twitter.com/MichaelKopech5/status/808686768706949121 https://twitter.com/MichaelKopech5/status/808691815612289025 https://twitter.com/MichaelKopech5/status/808734818758520832
Kopech is a workout freak himself, as his Twitter bio points out:
MLB
But he has a point. Pitchers need flexibility more than brute strength, which is part of the reason why out-of-shape guys like Bartolo Colon can stay healthy throughout a long career.
But hey, however Chapman chooses to train must be working for him as the 2016 World Champion just inked the largest deal for a reliever in baseball history.