Boston Red Sox' Kenley Jansen Comments on Making Baseball History

With a save against the Atlanta Braves on Wednesday night, Boston Red Sox reliever Kenley Jansen became the seventh player in baseball history to record 400 saves. He spoke about the accomplishment after the game and you can hear his remarks below.

The Boston Red Sox beat the Atlanta Braves last night to split the mini two-game series. With the win, the Red Sox are now 22-16 while Atlanta falls to 25-12.

While the Red Sox home run from Triston Casas was nice, the biggest moment of the game came at the very end when closer Kenley Jansen struck out Travis D'Arnaud to record the save.

It was Jansen's ninth save of the year, but more importantly, it was his 400th save of his career. That accomplishment puts him in an exclusive club in baseball history.

Per ESPN Stats & Info:

"Kenley Jansen becomes the 7th pitcher to record 400 saves (since the stat became official in 1969). He's the first to reach that mark since Francisco Rodríguez in 2016, and just the 4th to do it in his first 14 seasons, joining Mariano Rivera, Trevor Hoffman and Lee Smith."

Kenley Jansen becomes the 7th pitcher to record 400 saves (since the stat became official in 1969).

He's the first to reach that mark since Francisco Rodríguez in 2016, and just the 4th to do it in his first 14 seasons, joining Mariano Rivera, Trevor Hoffman and Lee Smith. pic.twitter.com/JN2ELZLreL

— ESPN Stats & Info (@ESPNStatsInfo) May 11, 2023

It's a pretty amazing run for Jansen, who started out his professional career as a catcher with the Los Angeles Dodgers. For his career, in addition to the 400 saves, he's 43-28 with a 2.43 ERA. 

Jansen looks rejuvenated in Boston this year. His velocity at the end of the game was 99 mph. 

After the game, Jansen spoke with NESN about the emotions of the moment. You can watch his full comments below but here's a partial transcript of what he said:

"My body is shaking right now, it's crazy. I never thought I could do this."

"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

The Red Sox are off on Thursday but will be back home on Friday against the St. Louis Cardinals. First pitch is 7:05 and it's the first start in Boston for James Paxton, who hasn't pitched since 2021.

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