Aroldis Chapman hit 101 mph in his first rehab game

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Cleared to return to game action six weeks after suffering facial fractures from a line drive to the head, Reds left-hander Aroldis Chapman made a minor-league rehab appearance yesterday at Single-A.

And he was clocked at 101 miles per hour on multiple pitches.

Chapman struck out two of the three (completely overmatched) hitters he faced in a 1-2-3 inning and afterward told Andy Call of MLB.com that he felt “normal … like I have always been, the way I felt before the accident. There is no fear, no hesitation with me.”

He was throwing so hard that the Single-A ballpark’s scoreboard wasn’t prepared for it:

The fastest pitches actually read “01” because the scoreboard display contains only two digits. A Dayton team spokesman said no pitcher had ever reached triple digits at Fifth Third Field.

There’s no official timetable set for his return, but Chapman said that “two or three more [appearances in the minors is exactly what I need.”

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Anthony Rendon fan interaction video looked into by MLB

Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports
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OAKLAND, Calif. – Major League Baseball is looking into a video circulating on social media that appears to show Los Angeles Angels third baseman Anthony Rendon grab a fan by the shirt through the bleacher guardrails after Thursday night’s game in Oakland, a league spokesperson said Friday.

Rendon looks to have grabbed the fan’s shirt near his chest through the bars of the railing and exchanged words with him before appearing to take a swipe at the bill of the man’s ballcap and walking into the tunnel.

Angels spokesman Adam Chodzko says the team has no comment. The Angels do not play Friday, but the club expects Rendon to address the video Saturday in the clubhouse before the game against the Oakland Athletics in Oakland.

The video shows the fan, dressed in A’s colors, approach the railing as Rendon turns toward him from the tunnel walkway below. Rendon then appears to grab the man’s shirt and ask him what he just said, accusing the fan of calling him a derogatory term before swiping at his ballcap.

The A’s won the game 2-1.