Chapman recovers, ready to pitch in
Key Black Sox pitcher Daniel Chapman has declared himself capable of hurling at ‘‘100%’’ at the World Cup after a full recovery from back surgery.
Many observers see Chapman as critical to New Zealand’s hopes of breaking back into the medals bracket at the 12-team tournament.
Josh Pettett – a world champion in 2017 – is the senior man on the mound, but Chapman made a strong impression at his first world tournament in Prague three years ago and is seen as a rising star.
The 25-year-old Aucklander had a spinal operation last April and has been on a limited pitching workload since.
Chapman said it had been a testing time ‘‘obviously coming out of injury’’, but he felt he was ‘‘in a good place at the moment’’.
‘‘I’ve been pretty lucky to have some well-known chiropractors and surgeons looking after me and our physio keeping me in shape. I’ve been seeing him a couple of times a day.
‘‘I’m pretty happy with where I’m at. I’ve just got to trust the process and hopefully go well.’’
Chapman had only pitched 12 innings leading up to last weekend’s pre-World Cup tournament in Palmerston North, but he was encouraged by his progress there.
‘‘I wouldn’t say I’ve had as much [pitching] as I’d like, but definitely down in Palmy, I let loose.
‘‘I was pitching about 100% and I’m pretty happy with how I’m feeling.’’
The Black Sox had two wins and three losses, with Chapman getting two important opportunities to test his fitness.
‘‘Obviously I didn’t go too well in that Canada game, eight walks, but we were pretty lucky to escape with only three hits in that whole seven innings. Take away that second inning, we win that game 2-1.
‘‘I felt like I found a better rhythm in that Australian game. I started off a bit shaky in that first inning, but once I found my rhythm for the second, third and fourth and I felt pretty good out there.’’
At full cry, Chapman can fire it down around 130kph and has a devastating drop ball, but it would be unrealistic to expect him to go the full distance too often in Auckland.
How head coach Mark Sorenson and battery coach Patrick Shannon – both catchers in their playing pomp – handle their hurlers could go a long way to defining the Black Sox’s title chances.
Pita Rona – a World Cup first-timer who can also slug and play across the infield – will be the back-up for Chapman and Pettett, but all three could be needed in almost every game.