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Pittsburgh Pirates Reliever and Atlanta Braves Closer Team Up For Some Unique History

Congratulations are in order for the Cuban duo of Aroldis Chapman and Raisel Iglesias!

Brady Farkas

Pittsburgh Pirates pitcher Aroldis Chapman (45) smiles in the dugout after receiving his World Series ring before the game against the Texas Rangers at Globe Life Field on Aug 19.
Pittsburgh Pirates pitcher Aroldis Chapman (45) smiles in the dugout after receiving his World Series ring before the game against the Texas Rangers at Globe Life Field on Aug 19. / Tim Heitman-USA TODAY Sports
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Congratulations are in order for relievers Aroldis Chapman (Pittsburgh Pirates) and Raisel Iglesias (Atlanta Braves), who teamed up to make some unique baseball history this weekend.

Per Cuban Baseball Insider Francys Romero on social media:

Aroldis Chapman and Raisel Iglesias are the first pair of relievers (non-United States born) to surpass 2,000 strikeouts in all MLB history.

1-Aroldis Chapman + Raisel Iglesias= 2,005 (CUB)
2-Octavio Dotel + Armando Benítez= 1,901 (RD)
3-Francisco "Kid" Rodríguez + Rafael Betancourt= 1,866 (VEN)

Given how international the game has gotten over the last 30 years, it's amazing that no country duo has hit this mark before, but nonetheless, here we are.

Both Chapman and Iglesias have shown remarkable effectiveness and durability since coming over from Cuba.

The 36-year-old Chapman is in his 15th major league season with the Cincinnati Reds, New York Yankees, Chicago Cubs, Kansas City Royals, Texas Rangers and Pirates. He helped the Cubs win the 2016 World Series and captured another ring with the 2023 Rangers. Lifetime, he's 55-44 with a 2.56 ERA. He as recorded 325 career saves. He came over to the United States and made his debut at the age of 22.

As for Iglesias, he is in his 10th year with the Cincinnati Reds, Los Angeles Angels and Braves. He has 218 career saves and has posted a 1.39 ERA this year.

It should be noted that there's a bit of a gray area with Romero's stat: Though Iglesias and Chapman have spent the majority of their careers as relievers, Iglesias did make 21 starts early in his tenure. So some strikeouts were acquired in that role.

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Brady Farkas
BRADY FARKAS

Brady Farkas is a baseball writer for Fastball on Sports Illustrated/FanNation and the host of 'The Payoff Pitch' podcast which can be found on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. Videos on baseball also posted to YouTube. Brady has spent nearly a decade in sports talk radio and is a graduate of Oswego State University. You can follow him on Twitter @WDEVRadioBrady. 

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