Story by
Tigers’ Kenley Jansen takes another step towards all-time saves record
- Story by
- Tigers’ Kenley Jansen takes another step towards all-time saves record
Tigers' Kenley Jansen takes another step towards all-time saves record appeared first on ClutchPoints . Add ClutchPoints as a Preferred Source by clicking here .
Kenley Jansen may be 38 years of age, but he remains a reliable late-game arm. For this season, Jansen is plying his trade for the Detroit Tigers , and on Tuesday, he came in to shut the door for Detroit in a 2-1 win over the Kansas City Royals , getting the final three outs of the game in composed fashion to earn his third save of the season, lowering his ERA to 2.45 on the season.
Advertisement
In so doing, Jansen climbed the all-time saves ladder, as this latest one was the 479th of his career, as pointed out by Bob Nightengale of USA Today. He passed Lee Smith for the third-most saves in MLB history, which is quite the feat for the 38-year-old in his 17th season in the big leagues.
The veteran closer hasn't given the Tigers any reason to doubt his ninth-inning capabilities, so Jansen should have plenty of chances moving forward to keep racking up the saves.
Of course, Jansen still has a long way to go before he even approaches Trevor Hoffman/Mariano Rivera territory. Jansen needs to save 123 more games to pass Hoffman for second on the all-time list, and he needs 174 more to be the all-time saves leader.
It's not quite clear just how much gas Jansen has left in the tank, seeing as he's already approaching his 40s. The best bet for Jansen may be to just earn his way into the 500-save club, an exclusive club in which he, Hoffman, and Rivera would be the only members of should he actually get there.
Advertisement
Jansen deserves plenty of credit for staying strong through the years, as there have been a few campaigns in which he's looked shaky and lost the closer's job. But the Tigers need him to be at his best and they certainly expect him to be. And with Detroit looking to make the postseason once again, Jansen will have to be ready for whatever comes his way in his quest to make history.
Related: Tigers, MLB's No. 2 overall prospect Kevin McGonigle agree to $150 million contract extension
