Being a closer is perhaps the hardest job in baseball, constantly being relied upon in extremely pressure-filled situations. Boston Red Sox closer Kenley Jansen has been one of the best in baseball for quite some time. He impressed again on Wednesday night en route to a historic accomplishment.
Jansen came into the game needing just one save to reach 400 career saves, which is a historic feat that very few have ever accomplished.
He got his opportunity to do so against his former team the Atlanta Braves and did not disappoint. Jansen came into the game with a 5-2 lead in the bottom of the ninth. He did allow a double in his outing, but the veteran reliever got out of the game unscathed.
The game ended fittingly for Jansen, striking out his former teammate Travis D’Arnaud to shut the door on Atlanta for a 5-2 victory.
A fitting end to close out save No. 400 for Kenley Jansen.
(MLB x @budweiserusa) pic.twitter.com/3CNcpqOuFO
— MLB (@MLB) May 11, 2023
With this victory, Jansen becomes just the seventh pitcher in MLB history to record 400 career saves.
Kenley Jansen is a walking hall of famer. 400 career saves throughout his career, just one of 7 pitchers all-time with 400+
◻️ Mariano Rivera, 652
◻️ Trevor Hoffman, 601
◻️ Lee Smith, 478
◻️ Francisco Rodriguez, 437
◻️ John Franco, 424
◻️ Billy Wagner, 422
◻️ Kenley Jansen, 400 pic.twitter.com/HybbT1TlGH— Jordan Moore (@iJordanMoore) May 11, 2023
He discussed the accomplishment after the game, detailing that even he thought this was never something he thought was a realistic goal in his career.
“My body is shaking right now it’s crazy,” Jansen told NESN reporter Tom Caron. “I never thought I could do this. I always wanted to make it as a catcher. Great choice.”
"I never thought I could do this."
Kenley Jansen reacts to recording his 400th career save – only the 7th pitcher in MLB history to do so. @TomCaron | #RedSox pic.twitter.com/rAuxNkdHDk
— NESN (@NESN) May 11, 2023
Perhaps even more impressive than this feat from Jansen is exactly how he performed in Wednesday’s game. According to MLB’s Sarah Langs, Jansen threw three fastballs over 98 miles per hour. This is the fastest that he has thrown a pitch since the 2016 season.
Kenley Jansen’s 3 fastest pitches tonight:
98.7 mph
98.5 mph
98.4 mphthe last time he threw a pitch that hard? 8/27/16 https://t.co/rsLRaZfoiK
— Sarah Langs (@SlangsOnSports) May 11, 2023
To continue to throw this hard at 35 years of age is truly incredible. His stats thus far this season definitely check out, sporting a 0.84 ERA in 11 appearances on the year.
