Boston Red Sox closer Kenley Jansen had a few longtime teammates alongside him to celebrate a special occasion Wednesday night at the end of their 5-2 win over the Atlanta Braves at Truist Park.
Jansen, who previously played for both the Braves and Dodgers, also previously shared a locker room with current Red Sox teammates Kiké Hernández and Justin Turner, winning a World Series with the two in Los Angeles back in 2020. Fast forwarding to three years later when Jansen records his milestone-notching 400th career save, making him just the seventh in Major League Baseball history to do so, made for an unforgettable night amongst the trio.
“Those are the guys that, had them for so many years,” Jansen told reporters, as seen on NESN’s postgame coverage. “We went through all. We went through the good times, the bad times. We did it all. We won championships together, and it can be even better to have those guys behind me, especially those two. … It’s an honor to have them two here and do it with this organization.”
Jansen added: “It was an unbelievable experience.”
The 35-year-old veteran, who’s coming off a National League-leading 41 saves in 2022, also mentioned how Turner influenced him, which needless to say paid off. Jansen even hinted that his continuous work, which resulted in some impressive velocity (99 mph) in the ninth inning, could perhaps push him to stick around baseball for half a decade’s worth of more time.
“My goal is not to play two years, my two years I have in this contract (with Boston),” Jansen said. “My goal is to continue to go. I know what my personal goal is and why not try to reach 40 (years old in MLB)? … Still got a lot in the tank left.”
Turner, who had an eventful day himself, playing at third base before moving to second base, has watched Jansen’s journey, leading to a celebratory night in Atlanta, playing eight seasons with the right-hander in Los Angeles before reuniting with him this past offseason in Boston.
“Knowing where he came from, knowing who he is, knowing everything. All the adversity that he’s been through,” Turner explained, as seen on NESN’s postgame coverage. “The ups and downs, getting wrote off a couple of times and just having the resiliency to keep going and keep working. … Couldn’t be more proud of him.”
