Life in the fast lane: Chapman's license plates reflect his speed
In addition to being the fastest thrower in all of the land, Cincinnati Reds left-hander Aroldis Chapman(notes) appears to be a law-abiding resident alien of the United States.
To wit, Chapman reportedly is trying to update his automobile license plates now that he has moved from Class AAA Louisville — in Kentucky, o' course — to big-league Cincinnati.
Changing states isn't the only reason Chapman might want to keep up to date; His cars have vanity plates that indicate how fast he goes — from the mound to the plate, that is.
Chapman's Lamborghini plate reads "MPH102"; His Mercedes: "101 MPH."
As we learned over the past week or so, that's several miles per hour ago for Chapman.
He hit 105 mph in a minor league game before being promoted. He threw 102 in his major league debut and reached 103.9 mph in his second appearance. (We round up in America.)
Chapman, apparently, refuses to drive in expired plates.
Writes John Fay of the Cincinnati Enquirer:
"I just texted his adviser," Louisville trainer Tomas Vera said. "He's going to see if he can get 104MPH and 105MPH."
So that's why Chapman checks himself out on the scoreboard to see how hard he's throwing. He digs the speed, baby.
Jon Bois of SB Nation already has done some leg work to see if those plates are available in Ohio and Kentucky (in case he stays registered there). The results are mixed, though Bois has hatched an extremely amusing alternative vanity plate solution that requires a 25-vehicle motorcade.
Here's another thing you learn by going to the Ohio and Kentucky DMV sites: Anytime you see a zero on a license plate, it's not a zero — but instead the letter "O."
Heh, the more you know.
And, as for the Lamborghini itself, it goes a little faster than one of Chapman's pitches.
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