This Milestone Provides Motivation For Red Sox Veterans

If you ask any player in Major League Baseball what their goal is, they’re going to tell you it’s winning a World Series.

That’s the easy answer, but it isn’t the only achievement that those athletes truly care about. In a sport where everyone is expected to put team goals first, there is a litany of personal milestones that can come along the way. The 500 home run club is pretty exclusive, with only 28 members. The 3,000-hit (33) and 3,000-strikeout (19) clubs are something that is rarely achieved as well.

There’s one milestone that seems to mean the most, however, despite the fact that it’s more attainable.

In a list desired of milestones put together by Stephen J. Nesbitt of The Athletic, Red Sox veterans Nick Pivetta, Adam Duvall and Kenley Jansen shared their thoughts on the milestone of reaching 10 years of service time.

“Growing up in Curaçao, I felt like it was impossible,” Jansen told Nesbitt. “But (Andruw Jones) paved the way for us. Shoot, man. When I first started, I never thought I’d get 10. It’s a blessing. That’s how I see it. Looking back now it’s like, dang.”

Jansen now has more than 13 years of service time, with some teammates viewing it as the ultimate goal.

“Getting to that plateau of 10 years and beyond is the goal,” Pivetta, who recently surpassed four years, said. “Anything after that is icing on the cake.”

The achievement of reaching ten years in the bigs comes with some solid perks, as MLB’s pension plan is fully vested at 10 years of service, while all players who reach that mark receive the gold card, which is awarded to players by the Commissioner’s Office and gives the holder and a guest free admission to any regular-season MLB game for life.

Pretty solid.

It’s something that is far from guaranteed, even for players who have provided an impact year over year. Red Sox outfielder Adam Duvall has made an All-Star team, won a Gold Glove award and a World Series, but only has six years of service time while finishing up his age-34 season.

“It’s a special accomplishment,” Duvall said. “It just doesn’t happen a ton.”

There are a total of four players on the Red Sox’s 40-man roster to have more than 10 years of service time (Jansen, Chris Sale, Justin Turner and Corey Kluber). Boston currently deploys more rookies (seven) than that.

Perhaps that’s what makes the milestone so special.