You don’t want to bury the lead with Aroldis Chapman the way he’s been burying sinkers and 100 mph fastballs in the strike zone all season long. So here it is: Chapman isn’t just the best and most successful closer in baseball this year. He is pitching like one of the best ever over the past few months.

Chapman, at age 37, hasn’t just helped pitch the Red Sox back into contention in the American League East and in the Wild Card race, he has done something else across the past few months, which means pitch himself into the Cy Young Award conversation with aces like Tarik Skubal and his teammate Garrett Crochet. Chapman, who bounced around to the Royals, Rangers and Pirates after leaving the Yankees a few years ago, has pitched like that kind of star.

Since the end of May especially, h

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