Baker clarifies comments regarding Chapman

NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- After an uproar over comments he made to the media at the Winter Meetings on Tuesday about Aroldis Chapman and domestic violence, Nationals manager Dusty Baker clarified his comments in a later interview on MLB Network Radio.

"There's no way that I would ever condone domestic violence. No way ... We gotta stop it, big time. I'm hoping that [the Chapman I knew] is innocent," said Baker, who was hired by the Nats this offseason.

Chapman was recently named in a domestic violence inquiry. Baker praised Chapman the ballplayer and questioned if the story about Chapman harming his girlfriend was true. Baker managed Chapman from 2010-13 and heard the news about Chapman's problems through his son, Darren.

"Oh, [Chapman] is a heck of a guy. I mean, a heck of a guy," Baker said. "I'll go on record and say I wouldn't mind having Chapman. No, no, he is a tremendous young man with a great family, mom and dad, and what he went through to get here and what his family had to go through to get here. I was with him through the whole process.

"I heard it from my son. I mean, who's to say the allegations are true, number one. And who's to say what you would have done or what caused the problem."

Baker also said that he was glad that MLB implemented a domestic violence policy.