It takes 18 pitches, but Chaparro gets his base

There's patience, and then there's the seventh plate appearance by Andrés Chaparro on Sunday.

The Yankees' infield prospect worked the hot corner for the first game of Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre's doubleheader with Syracuse, then moved across the diamond for the second one. Chaparro collected three hits and three runs in the RailRiders' 9-7 victory in the opener, and although he went 0-for-3 in the 7-4 loss in the latter game, he surely will remember his final trip to the plate for a long, long time.

That's because that one literally took a long, long time. Eighteen pitches, to be exact.

When Chaparro stepped in against No. 29 Mets prospect Grant Hartwig, he quickly worked a 2-0 count on breaking balls down in the zone. But then the game slowed down for them both.

The 23-year-old fouled off a fastball before watching another ball down in the zone and taking another heater for a strike. With the count, 3-2, Chaparro became a veritable foul ball machine. The right-hander threw every pitch in his arsenal, and they were met with Chaparro's fairly good impression of Freddie Freeman. On Thursday night, the Dodgers' first baseman fouled off nine pitches in a row en route to a 15-pitch walk.

But Chaparro surpassed Freeman on this occasion. The Venezuela native fouled off an even dozen in a row.

On pitch No. 17 and foul ball No. 12, the ball popped up near first baseman Mark Vientos. New York's No. 8 prospect didn't get a good read on the ball, though, and it dropped next to him in foul ground.

The next pitch was a ball in the dirt and Chaparro took his base.

He was three pitches short of tying the record for longest plate appearance in history. That record was set by the Blue Jays' Brandon Belt in 2018, when he was on the Giants, but the now-Blue Jays first baseman's hard work only resulted in a flyout.

The free pass capped off a dominant week for Chaparro, who went 10-for-24 with five homers, eight runs and seven RBIs. But only one walk -- the fateful end of the 18-pitch at-bat.

Sunday's double dip will probably last in Scranton/Wilkes-Barre teammate Jake Bauers' mind for a long time as well. In the opener, Bauers hit the home run trifecta, knocking in eight of the RailRiders' runs. Chaparro was on base for all three of the dingers.