Red Sox closer Kenley Jansen joined the record books when he became the seventh pitcher in Major League Baseball history to reach 400 career saves when Boston defeated the Atlanta Braves Wednesday night at Truist Park.
Former Red Sox great and Baseball Hall of Fame pitcher Pedro Martinez posted a video to his personal Twitter congratulating Jansen on the milestone.
“Hey Kenley, I wanted to be one of the first to congratulate you on the 400th save in your career,” the three-time Cy Young Award winner said. “May God bless you, keep you healthy, and you’re going to save many more. God bless you, my brother. I love you. Yeah!”
Jansen joins Mariano Rivera (652), Trevor Hoffman (601), Lee Smith (478), Francisco Rodriguez (437), John Franco (424) and Billy Wagner (422) to reach the monumental feat.
Jansen spoke to fans after the win in a video posted by the Red Sox.
“You know, my teammates are waiting right now for me to celebrate. It’s a pleasure. It’s an honor, man. To do it with this organization. Such a historic — this franchise is nothing but success, and we’re going to continue to do that,” Jansen said in the video. “That’s why I’m here for it. That’s why we’re all here for it. We’re going to build for success. I’m going to enjoy it right now, and I’ll see you guys soon.”
According to WEEI’s Rob Bradford, a congratulatory video was played in the clubhouse featuring Jansen’s wife and children, Andruw Jones, Eric Gagne, Ozzie Albies, Joe Torre, AJ Ellis, Clayton Kershaw, Russell Martin, Austin Barnes, Rick Honeycutt, Jonathan Schoop and Jurickson Profar.
