'It's just surreal': Jansen 7th pitcher in 400-saves club

ATLANTA -- Kenley Jansen, originally a catcher from Curaçao, is now in a select club occupied by some of the best closers to ever play the game.

The veteran righty became the seventh pitcher in history to reach 400 saves in his career on Wednesday, closing out a 5-2 victory for the Red Sox over the Braves, the team Jansen pitched for last season and grew up rooting for during his youth.

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Jansen joins Mariano Rivera (652 saves), Trevor Hoffman (601), Lee Smith (478), Francisco Rodríguez (437), John Franco (424) and Billy Wagner (422) in the 400-save club.

This moment was one Jansen wasn’t about to downplay.

“It's just surreal,” said Jansen. “It’s just crazy. I can say today I'm the seventh guy who did that. With baseball being around for so long, it’s unbelievable. I’m just going to continue to let this keep motivating me and keep striving for more.”

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How pumped up was Jansen as he closed in on the magic number? His third-to-last pitch of the milestone outing seared in at 98.7 mph. According to Statcast, that was Jansen’s hardest pitch since Aug. 27, 2016.

“It flashed again,” said Jansen. “My first [career] save, I was throwing 99. And then my 400th save, it flashed today. It’s great, man. I’m just going to continue to keep working hard every day.”

In an on-field interview just minutes after he struck out Travis d’Arnaud for the final out, Jansen admitted he was shaking.

Once the Red Sox got back to the clubhouse, Jansen’s teammates orchestrated a celebration of surprises, including a bass guitar that had "400" engraved on it. Jansen is an avid bass player.

“It can't be better than that,” Jansen said. “I probably won't play that one. I might play it one time, but that’s definitely going to go onto the wall as a souvenir.”

There was also a video tribute with messages from several people who have influenced Jansen’s career, including his wife, his four children, and the player he idolized most as a kid: Curaçao’s Andruw Jones. Several other former teammates, coaches and friends weighed in, among them Joe Torre, A.J. Ellis, Clayton Kershaw, Ozzie Albies, Russell Martin, Austin Barnes, Eric Gagne, Jurickson Profar, Jonathan Schoop and Rick Honeycutt.

“It can’t be better than seeing all the old faces,” said Jansen. “[Former] coaches and teammates. It's awesome, and it's a moment that I will never forget.”

The 35-year-old Jansen secured his first 350 saves for the Dodgers, the team that converted him from catcher to closer in 2009, when he was still in the Minors. He racked up another 41 last year in his lone season with the Braves.

Fittingly, the double-play combination for the Red Sox in the bottom of the ninth was Kiké Hernández at short and Justin Turner at second base. The three of them played for years together with the Dodgers, playing in the World Series three times together and winning it all in 2020.

“Those are the guys that I had with me for so many years. We went through it all, the good times, the bad times, we did it all,” said Jansen. “We won a championship together. It can’t be better than to have those guys behind me. They know what I've been [through] in this game.”

Red Sox manager Alex Cora called Jansen’s velocity on Wednesday eye-opening. Turner had seen it many times before.

“Seeing him hit 99 a couple of times tonight, me and Kiké kind of looked at each other and said, ‘We haven’t seen that in a while,’” Turner said. “I think it’s a testament to the work he has put in and how much he cares and how much he desires to be great. It takes a special human to excel in his role for as long as he has done it. I couldn’t be more proud of him.”

Following his long association with the Dodgers, Jansen racked up another 41 saves last year in his lone season with the Braves.

After signing a two-year, $32 million contract to come to the Red Sox in December, Jansen has anchored a solid bullpen that struggled mightily in 2022.

Jansen has converted nine of his first 10 save opportunities for Boston.

“This is a testament to who he is. He was a catcher. And he's the seventh reliever to get 400 saves. Shoot, he was throwing 99 today,” said Cora. “I know it's special for him. He grew up as a Braves fan. And for how bad he wanted to do it at Fenway, this was a perfect scenario. We’re very proud of him.”