Aroldis Chapman, who made his first appearance for the Cincinnati Reds late last season, is scheduled to take part in a signing at the Sports Gallery in West Chester April 4 from 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.
This will be the first tri-state public signing for Chapman and the second signing at the Sports Gallery, which opened seven months ago in the Lakota Plaza Shopping Center. The sports memorabilia shop also featured a public signing by Pete Rose in November.
“We are very excited about having him here,” Sports Gallery owner Mark Fugate said. “We hope this will put us on the map. People will know that this was the first place to have him.”
Chapman fans will need to purchase a ticket for each signature. The cost per ticket is $49. Only 300 tickets will be sold. Currently, more than 60 have already been purchased. Fans who cannot attend can ship items to the Sports Gallery and have them shipped back for the ticket price of $55. Tickets are also being sold for $70 for those fans who would like the Sports Gallery to provide the item to be signed. Shipping costs will be added to the ticket price.
Sports Gallery will be selling Chapman merchandise. The shop will sell 16×20 photos of Chapman for $25 and official Chapman jerseys for $150 (items pictured on the right – click to enlarge). The Sports Gallery will also sell official MLB baseballs for $14.
Chapman, who is nicknamed “The Cuban Missile,” currently holds the MLB record for fastest pitch ever recorded. Last September in a game at San Diego, Chapman threw the record-setting pitch that was clocked at 105 mph.
In 2010, Chapman appeared in 15 games, stuck out 19 batters in 13.1 innings and posted a 2.03 earned run average. Earlier this month, USA Today named Chapman as the top player in its list of “100 names you need to know” who are primed to make an impact in 2011.
The Sports Gallery currently has a display of Pete Rose worn jerseys and used bats. The store also had a similar Johnny Bench display, however that display is currently being borrowed by the Cincinnati Reds Hall of Fame & Museum.
Sports Gallery is located 7967 Cincinnati-Dayton Road (near the Tylersville intersection). For more information, call 513-759-4256 or visit the Sports Gallery website.
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