The stellar Cuban relief pitcher Aroldis Chapman has etched his name in golden letters in the Major League records. This Sunday, the left-hander reached the mark of 400 career saves, becoming just the ninth pitcher in the history of professional baseball to achieve this statistical milestone.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The feat was accomplished during the Boston Red Sox’s 3-1 triumph over the Baltimore Orioles, a victory that allowed the Boston team to complete a four-game sweep. In the ninth inning, despite allowing a single to Pete Alonso, Chapman maintained his composure and sealed the game with a strikeout of Christian Encarnacion-Strand using his signature 101-mile-per-hour fastball.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The road to 400 saves was not simple. Between 2022 and 2024, Chapman went through a period of uncertainty after losing his role as the primary closer for the New York Yankees, moving through various organizations and serving in setup roles. However, his arrival in Boston in 2025 marked a turning point, allowing him to regain his elite status and be selected to the All-Star Game in both of his seasons with the team.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\nYes, I think last year, with the season I had, I started thinking about that goal and that number. Up until that point, I hadn’t been a full-time closer since 2022. So, having the opportunity to close games and have a good season was when I thought that reaching 400 was possible.<\/p>\nAroldis Chapman<\/cite><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n
The 400 Club: A legacy of legends<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
With this achievement, Chapman joins a list of historic pitchers who have surpassed the 400-save barrier:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\n
- Mariano Rivera: 652<\/li>\n
- Trevor Hoffman: 601<\/li>\n
- Kenley Jansen: 493<\/li>\n
- Lee Smith: 478<\/li>\n
- Craig Kimbrel: 441<\/li>\n
- Francisco Rodriguez: 437<\/li>\n
- John Franco: 424<\/li>\n
- Billy Wagner: 422<\/li>\n
- Aroldis Chapman: 400<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
Longevity and dominance on the mound<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
At 38 years old, the “Cuban Missile” continues to demonstrate an enviable physical capacity. Although his velocity has varied slightly, he continues to maintain an average of 98 mph on his sinker and 97 mph on his fastball, which allows him to continue competing at the highest level. Chad Tracy, Boston’s interim manager, praised the discipline and constant impact that the pitcher brings to the team.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In addition to the 400 saves, this season has been historic for Chapman after surpassing Hoyt Wilhelm as the reliever with the most strikeouts in Major League history. Beyond the statistics, the lefty maintains a work ethic focused on being available for any high-pressure situation, consolidating himself as one of the most valuable and dominant pieces that baseball has seen in the last decades.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Aroldis Chapman makes history: The “Cuban Missile” reaches 400 saves in MLB The stellar Cuban relief pitcher Aroldis Chapman has etched his name in golden letters in the Major League records. This Sunday, the left-hander reached the mark of 400 career saves, becoming just the ninth pitcher in the history of professional baseball to achieve […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":156490,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[12809],"tags":[1256,88,344,3727],"class_list":{"0":"post-156489","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-national","8":"tag-aroldis-chapman","9":"tag-baseball","10":"tag-mlb","11":"tag-rescues"},"amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/alofokedeportes.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/156489","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/alofokedeportes.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/alofokedeportes.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alofokedeportes.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alofokedeportes.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=156489"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/alofokedeportes.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/156489\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alofokedeportes.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/156490"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/alofokedeportes.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=156489"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alofokedeportes.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=156489"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alofokedeportes.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=156489"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}