Chapman told Maddon shortly after he arrived in Chicago, where he quickly blew an eighth-inning save, that he preferred to pitch only the ninth. But he also told Maddon he would pitch whenever the manager wanted. They largely stuck to that plan — until the postseason.

“I never told him my opinion about the way he was using me because the way I feel is that, as baseball players, we’re warriors,” Chapman said, referring to the postseason. “Our job is to do what we need to do on the field. But if they send me out there to pitch, I’m going to go out there and pitch. If I’m healthy, I’m going to go out there and pitch. If I’m tired, I’m going to put that aside and just get through it.”

In many ways, Chapman echoed comments made by his new teammate Adam Warren, who was traded to the Cubs last winter and then returned to the Yankees in the July trade for Chapman. Whereas Girardi typically has well-defined roles for his relievers, Maddon reacts more to the particular situation his team faces in a game.

“Not really knowing when you’re coming in — that was the hardest thing, the unpredictability,” Warren said in July after he was back in the Bronx.

Chapman said that Miami, where he makes his home, made a strong offer to sign him to a long-term deal this off-season but that he was concerned that Jeffrey Loria, the Marlins’ owner, had a history of conducting fire sales.

“Sometimes they change their team a lot, and I wanted to have a stable team of young players where I could feel at home,” said Chapman, 28, who added that the opt-out option in his new contract — he can walk away after three years — came at the suggestion of his agent.