BALTIMORE -- For Red Sox closer Aroldis Chapman, it has been a season of milestones.
And in a 3-1 win that completed a four-game sweep of the Orioles on Sunday, Chapman achieved one he will never forget, becoming the ninth player in history to record 400 career saves.
Chapman worked around a one-out Pete Alonso single in the ninth and completed No. 400 by striking out Christian Encarnacion-Strand on, fittingly, a 101-mph heater.
Making it special for Chapman is that this goal didn’t feel within reach from 2022-24, when he was having command issues and was serving more as a setup man than a closer. Chapman lost the job as Yankees closer in mid-May of ‘22.
Over those three seasons, when Chapman pitched for four different teams, he had an aggregate 29 saves, 14 of which came when he got a chance to close out games for the Pirates late in the 2024 season when David Bednar was struggling.
After signing with Boston prior to the 2025 season, Chapman rejuvenated his career by pounding the strike zone. He won the closer’s job in Spring Training and has been an All-Star in that role for the Red Sox the last two years.
Once Chapman regained his dominance, the number 400 began to creep into his mind.
“Yeah, I think last year with the season that I had, I started thinking about that goal and that number,” said Chapman. “I hadn’t been [a full-time] closer to that point since 2022. So for me to have that opportunity to close games and to have a good season was the point when I thought that 400 was possible.”
Chapman joined Mariano Rivera (652), Trevor Hoffman (601), Kenley Jansen (493), Lee Smith (478), Craig Kimbrel (441), Francisco Rodriguez (437), John Franco (424) and Billy Wagner (422) in the 400 club.
Of the previous eight, four are in the Hall of Fame (Rivera, Hoffman, Smith and Wagner) and two are still active (Jansen and Kimbrel).
Considering that Chapman practically revolutionized this era of triple-digit velocity, it stands to reason he’ll have a pretty good Hall of Fame case if he ever retires.
Now 38 years old, Chapman is a force for the Red Sox, punctuating saves with signature stares after he strikes out an opposing hitter.
Earlier this season, Chapman surpassed Hoyt Wilhelm for most strikeouts by a relief pitcher.
The beauty of Chapman is that he isn’t as obsessed with saves as other closers. Last season, for example, former Red Sox manager Alex Cora brought the power lefty in for the eighth inning several times when the other team had the meat of the order up.
Pitching with the same concentration in tie games as save situations the last two seasons, Chapman has often enabled the Red Sox to win in walk-off fashion or in extras.
“Of course,” said Chapman of pitching in different situations. “That's practically [the same] as saving the game. Probably not in the statistics, but you just gave your team an opportunity to win the game, so you have that same mentality, like you’re going to close the game. That’s the most important thing. Just be ready for any opportunity that the team needs me.”
Though Chapman doesn’t hit 100 mph as often as he used to, the fact he is averaging 98 mph with his sinker and 97 mph with his fastball at this stage of his career is impressive.
But not necessarily surprising, either.
“We've spoken a lot about him,” said Red Sox interim manager Chad Tracy. “It's impressive, doing what he's doing for as long as he's been doing it, and the work he puts in to keep himself in shape and keep himself able to post as much as he does. He's pretty impressive.”