In addition to being the fastest thrower in all of the land, Cincinnati Reds left-hander Aroldis Chapman 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.
“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 Cherry is a Director of leading personalised number plate dealer Regplates.com. Jon has over 25 years industry experience handling some of the most expensive plates ever sold with many high profile and celebrity clients. Active since 1991 in the number plate industry, Jon is currently Chairman of the Cherished Numbers Guild, a trade body representing number plate dealers in the UK. Jon has written many articles on the industry and insight into the future of numberplates and the market as a whole.